ADAPTATION LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

02093373 · ltd · incorporated 1987-01-27

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 2026

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

81/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

9 officers (5 active, 9 linked, 7 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

125 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

81/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2026-03-31	2025-03-31
Average employees	400	400

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand

2026-07-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-27
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accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-26
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-10-24
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-10-23
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-10-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-28
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-11-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-10-29
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2019-10-25
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2019-10-25
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2018-10-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2015-03-31
➖
COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph resigned
director
2015-03-31
➖
COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph resigned
director
2010-08-01
➕
COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph appointed
director
2010-08-01
➕
COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph appointed
director
2009-11-01
➕
COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph appointed
director
2000-12-07
➕
COULSON-THOMAS, Vivien Jane, Prof. appointed
director
2000-12-07
➕
COULSON-THOMAS, Yvette May, Dr appointed
director
2000-12-07
➖
COULSON-THOMAS, Susan resigned
director
2000-08-31
➕
COULSON-THOMAS, Colin Joseph, Prof. appointed
secretary
2000-08-31
➖
COULSON-THOMAS, Susan resigned
secretary
1987-01-27
🏢
Company incorporated
As ADAPTATION LIMITED

Owner dependency

73/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — 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 candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 39 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Professor Colin Joseph Coulson-Thomas Individual · British · DOB 04/1949 · age 77	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Prof. Colin Joseph Coulson-Thomasceased 23/10/2020· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · PE postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ACCOUNTANCY SOLUTIONS (PETERBOROUGH) LTD→ 07887633 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS (DOWNHAM MARKET) LTD→ 11484870 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ACCOUNTS ASSIST PB LTD→ 13213851 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ACHIEVE24HEALTH HOME CARE LTD→ 16166621 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACTIVE PERSONNEL LTD→ 12267417 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AD ACCOUNTANTS LTD→ 13107518 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AD THALIA LIMITED→ 09244558 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ADAMS SELF DRIVE LIMITED→ 04086431 · est 2000 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
ADAPT BIOGAS LIMITED→ 08199075 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
ADHOC ACCOUNTS LIMITED→ 14630555 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ADIS.ENGINEERS LTD.→ 09302320 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ADSI LTD→ 14824070 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

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

Incorporated1987-01-27

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

Mill Reach

12 Mill Lane

Water Newton

Peterborough

PE8 6LY

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-12-31

Last made up to: 2026-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-06

Last: 2025-10-23

Officers (5 active · 4 resigned)

COULSON-THOMAS, Colin Joseph, Prof.→

secretary · appointed 2000-08-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COULSON-THOMAS, Colin Joseph, Prof.→

director · ~77y

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph→

director · ~35y · appointed 2009-11-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COULSON-THOMAS, Vivien Jane, Prof.→

director · ~46y · appointed 2000-12-07

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COULSON-THOMAS, Yvette May, Dr→

director · ~48y · appointed 2000-12-07

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COULSON-THOMAS, Susan→

secretary · resigned 2000-08-31

Resigned

COULSON-THOMAS, Susan→

director · ~70y · resigned 2000-12-07

Resigned

COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph→

director · ~35y · appointed 2010-08-01 · resigned 2015-03-31

Resigned

COULSON-THOMAS, Trystan Joseph→

director · ~35y · appointed 2010-08-01 · resigned 2015-03-31

Resigned

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