ALLEN & LOCK LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
00259385 · ltd · incorporated 1931-10-03
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 42.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2025
Net worth
£87.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 90-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 90). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
5 live charges · oldest 42.1y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 42.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
96 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £87,831
Cash YoY
+165%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£69k
↑ 165% YoY
Net Worth
£88k
↑ 53% YoY
Current Assets
£101k
↑ 57% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-09-30 | 2024-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £96.1k | £67.6k |
| Current assets | £100.9k | £64.1k |
| Cash | £69.2k | £26.1k |
| Debtors | £31.3k | £36.1k |
| Net assets | £87.8k | £57.3k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
3
filings
- • 1 officers
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 mortgage
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 officers
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 mortgage
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-24📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2026-03-12🔓Charge satisfied #5
- 2025-06-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-06-12📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-04-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-control-without-name-datepersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-03📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2004-06-28➕LOCK, Jennifer Helen appointeddirector
- 2004-06-28➖LIBBY, Penelope resigneddirector
- 2004-06-28➖LIBBY, William Henry resigneddirector
- 2004-06-28➖LOCK, Margaret Elizabeth resigneddirector
- 2003-06-21🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2002-03-12➖LOCK, John Pengelly resigneddirector
- 1994-04-19🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1991-09-12🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1985-01-23🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1984-04-13🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1984-04-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1931-10-03🏢Company incorporatedAs ALLEN & LOCK LIMITED
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LOCK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 90 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 90 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 95 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Jennifer Helen Lock Individual · British · DOB 08/1967 · age 59 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 28/02/2025 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Miss Margaret Elizabeth Lockceased 28/02/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/7 TAXI KINGSBRIDGE & SALCOMBE LTD→ 11540388 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 7AM DELIVERY LIMITED→ 16141425 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A. R. HADDY & SON LIMITED→ 00634697 · est 1959 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 66y | — | — |
| AAA MULTI-DROP (SOUTH WEST) LTD→ 14900757 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AAA MULTI-DROP LTD→ 08243362 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ABC WAREHOUSE LTD→ 15555471 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABLED MOTORS SOUTH WEST LTD→ 16816054 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCESSMOVERS LIMITED→ 12034217 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADRIVALB LTD→ 16942036 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGG HAUL LIMITED→ 10659163 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALM COURIERS LTD→ 14628928 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALMA DRIVER HIRE LTD→ 12633092 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →🔒Advanced scoring suite
Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1931-10-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road
Registered office
Old Road,
Liskeard,
Cornwall
PL14 6DH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-11
Last: 2025-05-28
Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)
Active
Active
LOCK, Jennifer Helen→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2004-06-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LIBBY, Penelope→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · resigned 2004-06-28
LIBBY, William Henry→
Resigneddirector · ~95y · resigned 2004-06-28
LOCK, John Pengelly→
Resigneddirector · ~93y · resigned 2002-03-12
LOCK, Margaret Elizabeth→
Resigneddirector · ~84y · resigned 2004-06-28
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
5
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Charge | 2 properties | 19/04/1994 | 12/03/2026 | |
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 2 properties | 12/09/1991 | 21/06/2003 | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Charge | 1 property | 23/01/1985 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 13/04/1984 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 13/04/1984 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (96 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-30
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-12
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-06-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control-without-name-date
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-28