BRETT DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00616595 · ltd · incorporated 1958-12-11
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
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 23910
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (60/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
11 officers (3 active, 11 linked, 8 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
18 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
136 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

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 (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-08-12
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  3. 2024-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-01-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2020-01-10
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  10. 2020-01-09
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  11. 2020-01-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2020-01-01
    ➕
    KITCHIN, Susan Francis appointed
    secretary
  13. 2020-01-01
    ➖
    GILBERT, John resigned
    secretary
  14. 2019-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2006-12-31
    ➖
    RUSSELL, Simon John resigned
    director
  19. 2006-12-29
    ➕
    GILBERT, John appointed
    director
  20. 2005-12-31
    ➖
    BRETT, Timothy William resigned
    director
  21. 2005-12-30
    ➕
    RUSSELL, Simon John appointed
    director
  22. 2002-07-26
    ➖
    WOOLNOUGH, Peter Barry resigned
    secretary
  23. 2002-07-26
    ➖
    WOOLNOUGH, Peter Barry resigned
    director
  24. 2002-07-25
    ➕
    GILBERT, John appointed
    secretary
  25. 2002-04-30
    ➖
    BRETT, Stephen Robert resigned
    director
  26. 1997-08-18
    ➖
    PEER, John Scott resigned
    director
  27. 1997-01-06
    ➖
    STEWARD, David John Frederick resigned
    director
  28. 1993-02-01
    ➕
    BRETT, William John appointed
    director
  29. 1993-02-01
    ➕
    STEWARD, David John Frederick appointed
    director
  30. 1958-12-11
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BRETT DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED

Owner dependency

98/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 "BRETT" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 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 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 68 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

1 med ·
Name changed recently
medium

Name changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.

Evidence: 2025-08-12: certificate-change-of-name-company

Group structure

Robert Brett & Sons Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Robert Brett & Sons Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
BRETT DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
This company · 00616595

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Robert Brett & Sons Ltd
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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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.

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
Incorporated1958-12-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC23910 — SIC 23910

Registered office

Robert Brett House
Ashford Road
Canterbury
Kent
CT4 7PP
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-21
Last: 2025-09-07

Officers (3 active · 8 resigned)

KITCHIN, Susan Francis→
secretary · appointed 2020-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRETT, William John→
director · ~61y · appointed 1993-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GILBERT, John→
director · ~80y · appointed 2006-12-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GILBERT, John→
secretary · appointed 2002-07-25 · resigned 2020-01-01
Resigned
WOOLNOUGH, Peter Barry→
secretary · resigned 2002-07-26
Resigned
BRETT, Stephen Robert→
director · ~73y · resigned 2002-04-30
Resigned
BRETT, Timothy William→
director · ~88y · resigned 2005-12-31
Resigned
PEER, John Scott→
director · ~91y · resigned 1997-08-18
Resigned
RUSSELL, Simon John→
director · ~75y · appointed 2005-12-30 · resigned 2006-12-31
Resigned
STEWARD, David John Frederick→
director · ~80y · appointed 1993-02-01 · resigned 1997-01-06
Resigned
WOOLNOUGH, Peter Barry→
director · ~80y · resigned 2002-07-26
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (136 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2025-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-01-17
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2020-01-10