LAND & WATER SERVICES LTD

📉Decliningactive

02776439 · ltd · incorporated 1992-12-24

Investment thesis

Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.

Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.

Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.

Opportunity decay

drifting distress · 6-months

Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.

· Lifecycle stage drifting downward
· Currently "declining"

🔒Estimated value

—

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Turnover

£31.03M

year to Dec 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Conservative operator with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (78/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 29.8y

35/100

too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

· Oldest live charge is 29.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 30/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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

6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)

Directors & officers

18 officers (8 active, 18 linked, 12 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

145 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

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

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Profitable

Profit before tax £313,229

Turnover YoY

+6%

Year on year

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 · FRS 102

Metric	2024-12-31	2023-12-31
Turnover	£31.03M	£29.18M
Gross profit	£4.63M	£4.96M
Operating profit	£318.7k	£409.4k
Profit before tax	£313.2k	£409.4k
Average employees	11800	13500

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 2 officers
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (60 events)Click to expand

2026-01-25
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-01-13
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-01-01
➕
LAVERY, David appointed
director
2026-01-01
➕
MOORE, Fiona appointed
director
2025-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-08
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-10-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-06-11
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2025-06-11
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2024-12-09
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2024-12-05
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2024-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-04
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-07-01
➕
HARPUR, Aaron appointed
director
2022-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-22
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-06-22
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-01-10
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-01-01
➕
BISHOP, Kim appointed
secretary
2021-09-30
➖
BROWNING, Roger resigned
secretary
2019-04-01
➖
BLIGH, David Jonathan resigned
director
2019-04-01
➖
GUSH, William James resigned
director
2018-08-08
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2018-08-08
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2017-11-22
🔒
Charge registered #6
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
2017-10-10
➕
KIRKLAND, Kevin James appointed
director
2017-09-26
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2017-09-05
🔓
Charge satisfied #5
2014-02-05
➕
BLIGH, David Jonathan appointed
director
2013-05-20
➕
BROWNING, Roger appointed
secretary
2013-05-20
➖
MELHUISH, Jeremy Piers resigned
secretary
2012-10-27
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2007-04-30
➖
JESSOP, Timothy resigned
director
2007-04-26
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Capital Bank PLC
2007-04-26
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Capital Bank PLC
2006-08-23
➕
GUSH, William James appointed
director
2006-01-10
➕
JESSOP, Timothy appointed
director
2001-11-06
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
2001-10-01
➕
GASCOYNE, Adrian Barrie appointed
director
2000-04-04
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1996-10-10
➕
MELHUISH, Jeremy Piers appointed
secretary
1996-10-10
➖
MOWAT, Simon resigned
secretary
1996-10-10
➖
MOWAT, Simon resigned
director
1996-07-31
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1995-10-24
➕
MACLEAN, James Alexander appointed
director

Showing most recent 50 of 60 events

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS

-7 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100

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 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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.

Group structure

M.H.J Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

M.H.J Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

LAND & WATER SERVICES LTD

This company · 02776439

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

3 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
M.H.J Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	24/12/2016
Mr James Alexander Maclean Individual · British · DOB 02/1969 · age 57	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence	03/04/2018
Mr Richard Edward Fitzharding Melhuish Individual · British · DOB 09/1946 · age 80	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence	24/12/2016

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

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A1 ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16591204 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AACE CONSULTING LIMITED→ 11176926 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AARON PEACOCK INSPECTION LIMITED→ 10206306 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
AAROX CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 12424626 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AASFOR LIMITED→ 09584150 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
AASG & CO LIMITED→ 15460213 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ABACUS BLUE LIMITED→ 08336599 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
ABBEY TAX SOLUTIONS LTD→ 07774186 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
ABD & ASSOCIATES UK LIMITED→ 16491888 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABIEL RECRUITMENT LTD→ 11338666 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1992-12-24

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC74909 — Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Numeric House

98 Station Road

Sidcup

Kent

DA15 7BY

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-07

Last: 2025-12-24