AINSWORTH HURST LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02240932 · ltd · incorporated 1988-04-06
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 27.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£369.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 27.6y

70/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 27.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
133 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £369,668
Cash YoY
+20%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£449k
↑ 20% YoY
Net Worth
£370k
↑ 33% YoY
Current Assets
£586k
↑ 21% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£117k£234k£351k£468k£586kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£371.8k£281.3k
Current assets£585.5k£484.2k
Cash£449.0k£375.4k
Debtors£136.6k£108.9k
Net assets£369.7k£277.8k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2026-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-06-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-06-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2025-04-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2025-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-08-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2024-08-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2024-01-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-01-21
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  14. 2020-11-05
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2020-11-05
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2020-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2004-11-12
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  19. 2004-01-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  20. 2003-12-18
    ➖
    HURST, David resigned
    director
  21. 2003-11-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  22. 2001-03-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  23. 2001-03-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  24. 2000-11-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  25. 2000-06-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  26. 2000-06-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  27. 1999-09-08
    ➖
    WILLIAMS, Stephen Lewis resigned
    director
  28. 1999-07-09
    ➖
    KEVILL, Roger Thomas James resigned
    director
  29. 1999-05-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Co-Operative Bank PLC
  30. 1998-12-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Co-Operative Bank PLC
  31. 1998-09-29
    ➕
    HURST, David Mark appointed
    director
  32. 1998-09-29
    ➖
    DEAN, Madelaine resigned
    director
  33. 1997-05-01
    ➕
    WILLIAMS, Stephen Lewis appointed
    director
  34. 1988-04-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AINSWORTH HURST LIMITED

Owner dependency

98/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "AINSWORTH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — 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 68. 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 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 38 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 ·
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.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Mark Hurst
Individual · British · DOB 01/1965 · age 61
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mr Martin Ainsworth
Individual · British · DOB 12/1958 · age 68
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated1988-04-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Chandler House
7 Ferry Road Office Park
Riversway
Preston Lancashire
PR2 2YH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-20
Last: 2026-04-06

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

AINSWORTH, Martin→
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
AINSWORTH, Martin→
director · ~68y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HURST, David Mark→
director · ~61y · appointed 1998-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DEAN, Madelaine→
director · ~93y · resigned 1998-09-29
Resigned
HURST, David→
director · ~91y · resigned 2003-12-18
Resigned
KEVILL, Roger Thomas James→
director · ~70y · resigned 1999-07-09
Resigned
WILLIAMS, Stephen Lewis→
director · ~73y · appointed 1997-05-01 · resigned 1999-09-08
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property24/11/200012/11/2004
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage2 properties26/06/200023/01/2004
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property23/06/200011/11/2003
satisfied
Co-operative Bank
The Co-Operative Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property17/05/199915/03/2001
satisfied
Co-operative Bank
The Co-Operative Bank PLC
Deed of legal charge1 property04/12/199815/03/2001

Recent filings (133 total)

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-06-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-06-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-07