LONDON & METROPOLITAN ESTATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
01496906 · ltd · incorporated 1980-05-15
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 79). Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 22 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (45/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

52 live charges · 22 lenders · oldest 44.8y

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 44.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 22 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 55/100 (high).

Data confidence

Overall: high (84/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
52 charges (52/52 with lender, 52/52 with type)
90
Directors & officers
19 officers (3 active, 19 linked, 15 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
19 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
242 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
74
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees00

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 (133 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2021-06-23
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  8. 2021-02-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2020-11-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-05-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2018-06-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2001-10-01
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #52
  17. 2001-09-29
    ➕
    DUDGEON, James Alexander appointed
    secretary
  18. 2001-09-29
    ➕
    DUDGEON, James Alexander appointed
    director
  19. 2001-09-29
    ➖
    HOLLOCKS, Ian Michael resigned
    secretary
  20. 2001-09-29
    ➖
    EVANS, Christopher Mark Stephen resigned
    director
  21. 2001-09-29
    ➖
    HEWSON, Andrew Nicholas resigned
    director
  22. 2001-09-29
    ➖
    HUBERMAN, Paul Laurence resigned
    director
  23. 2001-09-29
    ➖
    WALTON, Timothy Paul resigned
    director
  24. 2001-09-28
    ➕
    CAIRNS, William Stephen appointed
    director
  25. 2001-09-21
    ➖
    AITON, John resigned
    director
  26. 2001-09-21
    ➖
    HARRIS, Christopher Ian Knowles resigned
    director
  27. 2001-09-21
    ➖
    REYNOLDS, Andrew John resigned
    director
  28. 2001-09-21
    ➖
    STEWART, John Lindsay resigned
    director
  29. 2001-09-21
    ➖
    WARMAN, John Albert resigned
    director
  30. 2001-09-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #38
  31. 2001-08-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #50
  32. 2001-08-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #48
  33. 2001-08-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #44
  34. 2001-08-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #41
  35. 2001-07-11
    ➕
    HUBERMAN, Paul Laurence appointed
    director
  36. 2000-11-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #51
  37. 2000-11-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #42
  38. 2000-08-04
    ➖
    AITON, John resigned
    secretary
  39. 2000-08-04
    ➕
    HOLLOCKS, Ian Michael appointed
    secretary
  40. 1999-03-03
    ➕
    EVANS, Christopher Mark Stephen appointed
    director
  41. 1999-03-03
    ➕
    HEWSON, Andrew Nicholas appointed
    director
  42. 1999-03-03
    ➕
    WALTON, Timothy Paul appointed
    director
  43. 1998-07-31
    ➕
    AITON, John appointed
    secretary
  44. 1998-07-31
    ➖
    JONES, Gary Stanley resigned
    secretary
  45. 1998-07-31
    ➖
    DAVIES, Stephen Jeremy resigned
    director
  46. 1998-07-31
    ➖
    JONES, Gary Stanley resigned
    director
  47. 1998-05-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #52
    Lender: Dunbar Bank PLC
  48. 1998-04-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #51
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  49. 1997-06-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #50
    Lender: Pearson Property Investments Limited
  50. 1997-04-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #47
Showing most recent 50 of 133 events

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — 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 79 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 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 46 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 · 1 low
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.

16 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr William Stephen Cairns
Individual · British · DOB 01/1949 · age 77
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated1980-05-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

51 Marloes Road
London
W8 6LA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-24
Last: 2026-03-10

Officers (3 active · 16 resigned)

DUDGEON, James Alexander→
secretary · appointed 2001-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CAIRNS, William Stephen→
director · ~77y · appointed 2001-09-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUDGEON, James Alexander→
director · ~79y · appointed 2001-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
AITON, John→
secretary · appointed 1998-07-31 · resigned 2000-08-04
Resigned
HOLLOCKS, Ian Michael→
secretary · appointed 2000-08-04 · resigned 2001-09-29
Resigned
JONES, Gary Stanley→
secretary · resigned 1998-07-31
Resigned
AITON, John→
director · ~80y · resigned 2001-09-21
Resigned
DAVIES, Stephen Jeremy→
director · ~75y · resigned 1998-07-31
Resigned
EVANS, Christopher Mark Stephen→
director · ~61y · appointed 1999-03-03 · resigned 2001-09-29
Resigned
GIBBS, Roderick Vernon→
director · ~68y · resigned 1996-07-22
Resigned
HARRIS, Christopher Ian Knowles→
director · ~74y · resigned 2001-09-21
Resigned
HEWSON, Andrew Nicholas→
director · ~68y · appointed 1999-03-03 · resigned 2001-09-29
Resigned
HOLMES, John Mckean→
director · ~79y · appointed 1994-02-01 · resigned 1996-01-31
Resigned
HUBERMAN, Paul Laurence→
director · ~65y · appointed 2001-07-11 · resigned 2001-09-29
Resigned
JONES, Gary Stanley→
director · ~72y · appointed 1994-02-01 · resigned 1998-07-31
Resigned
REYNOLDS, Andrew John→
director · ~68y · appointed 1994-02-01 · resigned 2001-09-21
Resigned
STEWART, John Lindsay→
director · ~77y · appointed 1995-05-01 · resigned 2001-09-21
Resigned
WALTON, Timothy Paul→
director · ~65y · appointed 1999-03-03 · resigned 2001-09-29
Resigned
WARMAN, John Albert→
director · ~87y · resigned 2001-09-21
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

52
Total charges
16
Outstanding
4
Active lenders
Status:Lender:52 of 52 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Dunbar Bank
Dunbar Bank PLC
Deed of subordination1 property14/05/199801/10/2001
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Debenture1 property09/04/199803/11/2000
satisfied
Pearson Property Investments
Pearson Property Investments Limited
Legal charge3 properties04/06/199717/08/2001
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Deed of assignment1 property15/01/1997—
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Deed of charge over credit balances1 property14/12/199417/08/2001
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Deed of assignment1 property03/12/199310/04/1997
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland.
Fixed and floating charge1 property22/02/1991—
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property22/02/199110/04/1997
satisfied
Den Norske Creditbank .
Den Norske Creditbank PLC.
Third party assignment.2 properties01/03/199017/08/2001
satisfied
Kilnmead .
Kilnmead Limited.
Legal charge1 property15/01/199007/05/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland.
Legal charge2 properties25/05/198903/11/2000
satisfied
The Standard Life Assurance Company
Loan agreement1 property25/11/198817/08/2001
outstanding
The British Linen Bank
The British Linen Bank Limited
Standard security1 property22/10/1987—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property25/09/198708/02/1991
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Deed of covenants1 property20/08/198715/09/2001
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property16/06/198708/02/1991
satisfied
A P Bank
A P Bank Limited
Further charge1 property06/05/198708/02/1991
satisfied
Balfour Beatty Building
Balfour Beatty Building Limited
Legal charge1 property30/03/198708/02/1991
satisfied
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty Limited
Second legal charge1 property16/03/198708/02/1991
satisfied
London & Edinburgh Trust .
London & Edinburgh Trust PLC.
Second legal charge1 property16/03/198708/02/1991
satisfied
London & Edinburgh Trust .
London & Edinburgh Trust PLC.
Counter indemnity1 property04/11/198608/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property31/07/198608/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland.
Equitable charge1 property31/07/198608/02/1991
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property20/06/198608/02/1991
satisfied
A P Bank
A P Bank Limited
First fixed charge1 property30/05/198608/02/1991
satisfied
A P Bank
A P Bank Limited
First legal charge1 property30/05/198608/02/1991
satisfied
A P Bank
A P Bank Limited
First fixed charge1 property30/05/198608/02/1991
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland.
Legal charge1 property28/05/1986—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal mortgage1 property22/04/1986—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland,
Legal mortgage1 property24/02/1986—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Custodian Trustees of Trustee Savings Bank of Scotland
Standard security presented at sasines on 19.2.86.1 property19/02/1986—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property31/01/198608/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property23/01/198608/02/1991
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property16/01/1986—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property03/01/1986—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property24/12/198508/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property23/12/198508/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Charge1 property19/12/198508/02/1991
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property26/11/1985—
satisfied
A.P. Bank
A.P. Bank Limited
Legal charge2 properties12/09/198508/02/1991
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor & the Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property13/05/1985—
satisfied
A.P. Bank
A.P. Bank Limited
Legal charge1 property09/04/198508/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland.
Legal charge1 property20/03/198508/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property19/12/198408/02/1991
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property13/12/198410/10/1989
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property12/07/198408/02/1991
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security registered in scotland 10-5-841 property02/05/1984—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property01/03/1984—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property17/06/198308/02/1991
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property07/12/1982—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Charge1 property26/03/1982—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property30/07/1981—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (242 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-11
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-06-23
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-02-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-11-11