DEVONSHIRE TRADING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02194955 · ltd · incorporated 1987-11-17
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
£929.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -94% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 15.5y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 15.5 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 (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
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 6 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
107 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 102Positive net assets
Net assets £929,699
Net assets shrinking
Down £164,281 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 94% YoY
Cash YoY
-94%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£936
↓ 94% YoY
Net Worth
£930k
↓ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£162k
↓ 29% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.37M | £1.09M |
| Current assets | £162.2k | £228.0k |
| Cash | £936 | £15.8k |
| Debtors | £161.2k | £212.2k |
| Net assets | £929.7k | £1.09M |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-11-05📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2020-11-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-11-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-11-04📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-01-31🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Sg Equipment Finance Limited
- 2010-12-10➖BLOWER, Ian Meredith resigneddirector
- 2006-10-31➕HARRISON, Philip Grant appointeddirector
- 2005-12-02➖O'BRIEN, Patrick Joseph resigneddirector
- 2005-08-24➕MOSS, Andrew Jason appointedsecretary
- 2005-08-24➕MOSS, Andrew Jason appointeddirector
- 2005-08-24➖LUDLOW, Shirley Ann resignedsecretary
- 2005-08-24➕BLOWER, Ian Meredith appointeddirector
- 2005-08-24➖LUDLOW, Derek resigneddirector
- 2005-08-24➖LUDLOW, Shirley Ann resigneddirector
- 2005-08-24➕O'BRIEN, Patrick Joseph appointeddirector
- 1987-11-17🏢Company incorporatedAs DEVONSHIRE TRADING LIMITED
Owner dependency
76/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 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
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 Philip Harrison Individual · British · DOB 05/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Andrew Moss Individual · British · DOB 03/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · KT postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEIA STUDIOS FASHION LTD→ 14321616 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DENTAL RESALE LTD→ 12694639 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| DERMALOGICA (UK) LIMITED→ 02263856 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 37y | — | — |
| DETROPIC LTD→ 11919235 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| DHONI LIMITED→ 06165571 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| DIGITAL PRINT MACHINES LIMITED→ 08353789 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| DINAK ENTERPRISES LTD→ 16760465 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DLAMS LIMITED→ 10790028 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| DML SHIPPING LIMITED→ 15188608 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DOCSTOR LIMITED→ 05535202 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| DOMAINES ET CHATEAUX LIMITED→ 06085553 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| DORSET FISH AND SHELLFISH LIMITED→ 07687588 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1987-11-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46190 — Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Registered office
The Studio
1 Canons Lane
Burgh Heath
Surrey
KT20 6DP
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-21
Last: 2025-09-07
Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)
MOSS, Andrew Jason→
Activesecretary · appointed 2005-08-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARRISON, Philip Grant→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2006-10-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MOSS, Andrew Jason→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2005-08-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LUDLOW, Shirley Ann→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2005-08-24
BLOWER, Ian Meredith→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2005-08-24 · resigned 2010-12-10
LUDLOW, Derek→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · resigned 2005-08-24
LUDLOW, Shirley Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · resigned 2005-08-24
O'BRIEN, Patrick Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 2005-08-24 · resigned 2005-12-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Sg Equipment Finance Sg Equipment Finance Limited | Guarantee and charge | 1 property | 31/01/2011 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (107 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-11-05
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-11-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-11-04