ALCHEM (MERSEYSIDE) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
01814464 · ltd · incorporated 1984-05-08
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£376.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 39000
Sector: Water supply & waste
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -50% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · oldest 32.0y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 32.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (3 active, 10 linked, 6 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
105 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £376,840
Net assets shrinking
Down £15,170 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 50% YoY
Cash YoY
-50%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£25k
↓ 50% YoY
Net Worth
£377k
↓ 3.9% YoY
Current Assets
£158k
↓ 9.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£78k£157k£235k£314k£392kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£648.2k£564.6k
Current assets£158.0k£174.3k
Cash£25.4k£50.5k
Debtors£132.6k£123.8k
Net assets£376.8k£392.0k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-23
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2024-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2020-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-11-08
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  10. 2019-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-01-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2007-02-14
    ➕
    MCMASTER, Victoria Anne appointed
    director
  17. 2006-07-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  18. 2004-08-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  19. 1999-08-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  20. 1994-07-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  21. 1993-10-18
    ➕
    SHERMAN, Ann Marie appointed
    secretary
  22. 1993-10-18
    ➖
    SHERMAN, Trevor William resigned
    secretary
  23. 1993-01-01
    ➕
    SHERMAN, Thomas John appointed
    director
  24. 1993-01-01
    ➖
    SHERMAN, Eda resigned
    secretary
  25. 1993-01-01
    ➕
    SHERMAN, Trevor William appointed
    secretary
  26. 1993-01-01
    ➖
    SHERMAN, Trevor William resigned
    director
  27. 1992-09-08
    ➖
    SHERMAN, Thomas John resigned
    director
  28. 1992-09-08
    ➕
    SHERMAN, Trevor William appointed
    director
  29. 1992-07-13
    ➕
    SHERMAN, Thomas John appointed
    director
  30. 1992-06-20
    ➕
    SHERMAN, Eda appointed
    secretary
  31. 1992-05-18
    ➖
    SMITH, Isabella resigned
    secretary
  32. 1992-05-18
    ➖
    SMITH, Isabella resigned
    director
  33. 1992-05-18
    ➖
    SMITH, Roy resigned
    director
  34. 1984-05-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALCHEM (MERSEYSIDE) LIMITED

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 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 42 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Ann Marie Sherman
Individual · British · DOB 12/1959 · age 67
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting23/07/2025
Mr Thomas John Sherman
Individual · British · DOB 04/1959 · age 67
25–50%
—25-50% shares31/12/2016

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

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
Incorporated1984-05-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC39000 — SIC 39000

Registered office

Hopewell House
Garth Road
Ellesmere Port
CH65 4LB
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-15
Last: 2026-01-01

Officers (3 active · 7 resigned)

SHERMAN, Ann Marie→
secretary · appointed 1993-10-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCMASTER, Victoria Anne→
director · ~46y · appointed 2007-02-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHERMAN, Thomas John→
director · ~67y · appointed 1993-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHERMAN, Eda→
secretary · appointed 1992-06-20 · resigned 1993-01-01
Resigned
SHERMAN, Trevor William→
secretary · appointed 1993-01-01 · resigned 1993-10-18
Resigned
SMITH, Isabella→
secretary · resigned 1992-05-18
Resigned
SHERMAN, Thomas John→
director · ~67y · appointed 1992-07-13 · resigned 1992-09-08
Resigned
SHERMAN, Trevor William→
director · ~56y · appointed 1992-09-08 · resigned 1993-01-01
Resigned
SMITH, Isabella→
director · ~90y · resigned 1992-05-18
Resigned
SMITH, Roy→
director · ~95y · resigned 1992-05-18
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
4
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property28/07/2006—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property02/08/2004—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property18/08/1999—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property19/07/1994—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (105 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-10