A.J. SIGNS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01846463 · ltd · incorporated 1984-09-06
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 18121
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 18129SIC 18129
- 32990Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
91 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-16➕MURDOCH, Nicola Jayne appointeddirector
- 2026-02-16📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-17📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2005-03-31➖MURDOCH, Jean Rose Marie resignedsecretary
- 1997-09-20➕MURDOCH, Nicola Jayne appointedsecretary
- 1995-07-05➖SMITH, Anthony John resigneddirector
- 1984-09-06🏢Company incorporatedAs A.J. SIGNS LIMITED
Owner dependency
74/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Robert Murdoch Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | — | sig. influence75-100% shares · significant influence | 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
6 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
Incorporated1984-09-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC18121 — SIC 18121
Registered office
4 Douglas Close
Guildford
GU4 7PB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-29
Last: 2025-09-15
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
MURDOCH, Nicola Jayne→
Activesecretary · appointed 1997-09-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURDOCH, Nicola Jayne→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2026-02-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MURDOCH, Jean Rose Marie→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2005-03-31
SMITH, Anthony John→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · resigned 1995-07-05
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (91 total)
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-30