A.C. PUDDLE & CO. LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01168355 · ltd · incorporated 1974-04-29
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 28.8y 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: Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 83). 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
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 28.8y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 28.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · 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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (6 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
98 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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 500 | 500 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-30📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-12-01📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2007-02-21🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Alan Claude Puddle and Marilyn Freda Puddle
- 2007-02-21🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2006-02-07➕JACKSON, Tracey Jayne appointeddirector
- 1998-05-01➕PUDDLE, Dale Andrew Hartley appointeddirector
- 1998-05-01➕PUDDLE, Mark Alan appointeddirector
- 1997-07-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1974-04-29🏢Company incorporatedAs A.C. PUDDLE & CO. LIMITED
Owner dependency
88/100
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
- -5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "PUDDLE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — 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 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 52 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alan Claude Puddle Individual · British · DOB 08/1943 · age 83 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Marilyn Freda Puddle Individual · British · DOB 05/1944 · age 82 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% 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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| 1ST CHOICE FLOORING C&J LTD→ 12698835 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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| AACME GLASS LIMITED→ 02108304 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| AAF DEVELOPMENT LTD→ 16347847 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AAF DISTRIBUTIONS LTD→ 16295173 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AALTMO LTD→ 15560827 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AARON CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LTD→ 10712246 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AB PLUMBING AND PROPERTY SERVICES LTD→ 16359092 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABBYFIELD CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 04049172 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1974-04-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43220 — Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Registered office
111 Osborne Road
Pontypool
Gwent
NP4 6LU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-03
Last: 2026-03-20
Officers (6 active · 0 resigned)
Active
JACKSON, Tracey Jayne→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2006-02-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PUDDLE, Dale Andrew Hartley→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 1998-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PUDDLE, Mark Alan→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 1998-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Alan Claude Puddle and Marilyn Freda Puddle | Legal charge | 1 property | 21/02/2007 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 21/02/2007 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 21/07/1997 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (98 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-29