A.E. WORLEY & SON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
00845960 · ltd · incorporated 1965-04-15
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 49.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 90-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 90). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 49.7y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 49.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
101 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 4 | 400 |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-06-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-01-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2005-08-23➕WORLEY, James Peter appointedsecretary
- 2005-08-23➖WORLEY, Adrian Peter resignedsecretary
- 2005-08-23➖WORLEY, Adrian Peter resigneddirector
- 2004-09-02🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2004-09-02🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 1997-06-27➕WORLEY, Graham Anthony appointeddirector
- 1997-06-27➕WORLEY, James Peter appointeddirector
- 1984-06-19🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 1976-09-20🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 1965-04-15🏢Company incorporatedAs A.E. WORLEY & SON LIMITED
Owner dependency
98/100
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
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "WORLEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 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
90/100
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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 61 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Peter Worley Individual · British · DOB 04/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Graham Anthony Worley Individual · British · DOB 09/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Marian May Worley Individual · British · DOB 05/1936 · age 90 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · SO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0086 ASIAN SUPERMARKET LIMITED→ 14232463 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 2A'S RETAIL LIMITED→ 14262493 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 3 AMIGOS RETAIL LTD→ 14516972 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 3 GAMING PILLARS LTD→ 15749313 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 333 SYSTEMS LTD→ 16844093 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 HAO LIMITED→ 11546313 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A2 SHOP LIMITED→ 16813152 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AA SALES LTD→ 15696113 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AARZAN LTD→ 10482449 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ABBEY GARDEN BUILDINGS LIMITED→ 09865155 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ABBEYPLANS LIMITED→ 13663131 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABBOTT COMMERCE LTD→ 17074825 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1965-04-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47599 — Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores
Registered office
74/76 Northam Road
Southampton
SO14 0PB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last: 2025-12-17
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
WORLEY, James Peter→
Activesecretary · appointed 2005-08-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WORLEY, Graham Anthony→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 1997-06-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WORLEY, James Peter→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 1997-06-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WORLEY, Adrian Peter→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2005-08-23
WORLEY, Adrian Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · resigned 2005-08-23
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 19/06/1984 | 02/09/2004 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Mortgage | 1 property | 20/09/1976 | 02/09/2004 |
Recent filings (101 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-12-19