EXORS. OF JOHN WARD LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
00312679 · ltd · incorporated 1936-04-04
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£72.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Security dealing on own account
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
111 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £72,876
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,010 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£73k
↓ 4.0% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↓ 3.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-05 | 2024-04-05 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £72.9k | £75.9k |
| Current assets | £2.0k | £2.1k |
| Net assets | £72.9k | £75.9k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-21📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-03-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-11-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-06-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-06-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-04-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-13📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-03-12📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-11-04➕WOOD, Crispin Michael appointedsecretary
- 2023-11-04📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2023-11-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-02-14📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-02-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-01➖WOOD, Geoffrey Michael, Doctor resigneddirector
- 2022-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-28➖WOOD, Geoffrey Michael, Doctor resignedsecretary
- 2017-06-15➕KEARNS, Sebastian Benjamin appointeddirector
- 1994-05-31➕WOOD, Geoffrey Michael, Doctor appointedsecretary
- 1994-05-31➖MESSRS ARCHERS WALKER resignedcorporate-secretary
- 1936-04-04🏢Company incorporatedAs EXORS. OF JOHN WARD LIMITED
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Eva Wood Individual · British · DOB 08/1934 · age 92 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOWLAND FINANCE LIMITED→ 12324302 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BRATHAY INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 13483414 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CASTLE LOCH LTD.→ 15151195 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| FACE TO FACE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD→ 04663849 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT BUREAU LIMITED→ 02089786 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| GARETH NICHOLSON FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD→ 10545315 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| GILKES HYDRO PROJECTS LIMITED→ 08969105 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| GLOBAL-365 (UK) LTD→ 03162117 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| GM SECURED LENDING OPPORTUNITIES 1002 LIMITED→ 13118905 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| GREEN DOME INVESTMENTS GROUP LTD→ 14320132 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| GUARDIAN POWER LIMITED→ 12151702 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 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.
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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.
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See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1936-04-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64991 — Security dealing on own account
Registered office
Rockfold Mount Pleasant
Arnside
Carnforth
LA5 0EW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-05
Last made up to: 2025-04-05
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-20
Last: 2025-11-06
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
WOOD, Crispin Michael→
Activesecretary · appointed 2023-11-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KEARNS, Sebastian Benjamin→
Activedirector · ~35y · appointed 2017-06-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WOOD, Geoffrey Michael, Doctor→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1994-05-31 · resigned 2018-01-28
MESSRS ARCHERS WALKER→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · resigned 1994-05-31
WOOD, Geoffrey Michael, Doctor→
Resigneddirector · ~94y · resigned 2023-02-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (111 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-15
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-03-13
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-18
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2023-11-04