A.E.HERBERT LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

00723840 · ltd · incorporated 1962-05-14

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

—

year to Sept 2024

Net worth

£1.71M

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 46130

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

47520Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
47789Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 9 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: family or management succession (50/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

17 live charges · 9 lenders · oldest 51.7y

25/100

too messy

Structure is too messy for a clean refinance right now — clean up first or expect bespoke terms.

· Oldest live charge is 51.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 9 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 50/100 (high).

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, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

17 charges (17/17 with lender, 17/17 with type)

Directors & officers

5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

123 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £1,706,283

Net assets shrinking

Down £24,582 YoY

Cash YoY

+31%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£655k

↑ 31% YoY

Net Worth

£1.7m

↓ 1.4% YoY

Current Assets

£1.8m

↑ 3.0% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Total assets	£2.35M	£2.23M
Current assets	£1.82M	£1.77M
Cash	£655.2k	£499.3k
Debtors	£787.4k	£878.2k
Net assets	£1.71M	£1.73M

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 officers

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 officers

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (54 events)Click to expand

2026-02-17
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-09
➖
HERBERT, Jamie Stephen resigned
director
2025-04-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-25
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-02-25
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-02-25
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-01-31
➕
HERBERT, Sam appointed
director
2025-01-31
➕
HERBERT, Jamie Stephen appointed
director
2025-01-31
➖
HERBERT, Stephen Alfred resigned
director
2024-05-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-08
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-06-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-25
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-11
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-09-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-07-02
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2019-06-21
🔒
Charge registered #17
Lender: Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance LTD
2019-06-11
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2019-06-11
🔓
Charge satisfied #13
2019-06-11
🔓
Charge satisfied #12
2019-06-11
🔓
Charge satisfied #11
2014-05-19
🔒
Charge registered #16
Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
2011-01-28
➕
HERBERT, Jonathan Stephen appointed
director
2007-06-29
🔒
Charge registered #15
Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
2007-06-29
🔒
Charge registered #14
Lender: Nottingham Building Society
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #7
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #6
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #5
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2007-03-22
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2002-11-04
🔒
Charge registered #13
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
2002-07-16
🔓
Charge satisfied #10
2002-07-16
🔓
Charge satisfied #9
2002-06-12
🔒
Charge registered #12
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2002-02-01
🔓
Charge satisfied #8
2001-11-09
🔒
Charge registered #11
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1991-08-16
🔒
Charge registered #10
Lender: Nottingham Imperial Building Society.
1991-08-16
🔒
Charge registered #9
Lender: Nottingham Imperial Building Society.
1991-08-16
🔒
Charge registered #8
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
1986-06-17
🔒
Charge registered #7
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
1986-06-16
🔒
Charge registered #6
Lender: Nottingham Imperial Building Society
1983-11-25
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
1983-06-30
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC

Showing most recent 50 of 54 events

Owner dependency

99/100

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 "HERBERT" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

19/100

No succession signal

No meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.

SIGNALS

primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — HERBERT, Sam (same surname) appointed 2025-01-31. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 med ·

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Stephen Alfred Herbert Individual · British · DOB 04/1942 · age 84	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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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

Incorporated1962-05-14

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46130 — SIC 46130

Registered office

Alexandra House

43 Alexandra Street

Nottingham

NG5 1AY

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-06-30

Last made up to: 2024-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-06

Last: 2025-08-23

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MELLORS, Andrew Philip→

secretary

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HERBERT, Jonathan Stephen→

director · ~58y · appointed 2011-01-28

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HERBERT, Sam→

director · ~34y · appointed 2025-01-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HERBERT, Jamie Stephen→

director · ~36y · appointed 2025-01-31 · resigned 2026-02-09

Resigned

HERBERT, Stephen Alfred→

director · ~84y · resigned 2025-01-31

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:17 of 17 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance LTD	A registered charge	—	21/06/2019	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC	A registered charge	—	19/05/2014	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC	Mortgage deed	1 property	29/06/2007	—
outstanding	Nottingham Building Society	Mortgage deed	1 property	29/06/2007	—
satisfied	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	04/11/2002	11/06/2019
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Legal charge	1 property	12/06/2002	11/06/2019
satisfied	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	09/11/2001	11/06/2019
satisfied	Nottingham Imperial Building Society.	Legal mortgage	1 property	16/08/1991	16/07/2002
satisfied	Nottingham Imperial Building Society.	Further charge	2 properties	16/08/1991	16/07/2002
satisfied	National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC	Legal mortgage	2 properties	16/08/1991	01/02/2002
satisfied	National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC	Legal mortgage	1 property	17/06/1986	22/03/2007
satisfied	Nottingham Imperial Building Society	Legal charge	2 properties	16/06/1986	22/03/2007
satisfied	National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	25/11/1983	22/03/2007
satisfied	National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	30/06/1983	22/03/2007
satisfied	National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC	Legal mortgage	1 property	30/06/1983	22/03/2007
satisfied	National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	25/09/1981	22/03/2007
satisfied	M-E . Herbert	Mortgage	1 property	31/07/1974	22/03/2007

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (123 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2026-02-17

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-08-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-04-05

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2025-02-25

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2025-02-25

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2025-02-25

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-08-23

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-05-10

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-09-08

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2023-09-08

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2023-09-08

change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date

officers · CH03

2023-09-08

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-06-05

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-08-25

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2022-08-25