ASHBOURNE INSURANCE SERVICES (HODDESDON) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02837161 · ltd · incorporated 1993-07-19
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£392.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-life insurance
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -68% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (4 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 5 total, 5 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
109 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £392,722
Cash draining
Cash down 68% YoY
Cash YoY
-68%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£9k
↓ 68% YoY
Net Worth
£393k
↑ 9.5% YoY
Current Assets
£740k
↑ 75% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£148k£296k£444k£592k£740kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£394.4k£370.4k
Current assets£740.1k£422.6k
Cash£9.4k£29.2k
Debtors£730.7k£393.4k
Net assets£392.7k£358.8k

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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2025-05-01
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2024-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-05-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  18. 2008-05-01
    ➕
    SMITS, Sarah appointed
    secretary
  19. 2008-05-01
    ➕
    HUNT, Matthew appointed
    director
  20. 2008-05-01
    ➕
    SMITS, Peter William appointed
    director
  21. 2008-05-01
    ➕
    SMITS, Sarah Lindsay appointed
    director
  22. 2008-04-30
    ➖
    HUNT, Brenda Ann resigned
    secretary
  23. 2008-04-30
    ➖
    HUNT, Brenda Ann resigned
    director
  24. 2008-04-30
    ➖
    HUNT, Richard James William resigned
    director
  25. 1993-07-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASHBOURNE INSURANCE SERVICES (HODDESDON) LIMITED
  26. 1993-07-19
    ➕
    HUNT, Brenda Ann appointed
    secretary
  27. 1993-07-19
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1993-07-19
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 1993-07-19
    ➕
    HUNT, Brenda Ann appointed
    director
  30. 1993-07-19
    ➕
    HUNT, Richard James William appointed
    director
  31. 1993-07-19
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 1993-07-19
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Sarah Lindsay Smits
Individual · British · DOB 01/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control01/01/2017
Mr Peter William Smits
Individual · British · DOB 01/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control01/01/2017
Mr Matthew Hunt
Individual · British · DOB 03/1973 · age 53
——board controlboard control01/01/2017
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Ms Brenda Ann Huntceased 04/12/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr Richard James William Huntceased 04/12/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% 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 →

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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
Incorporated1993-07-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC65120 — Non-life insurance

Registered office

50 Amwell Street
Hoddesdon
Hertfordshire
EN11 8UA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last: 2025-12-17

Officers (4 active · 5 resigned)

SMITS, Sarah→
secretary · appointed 2008-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUNT, Matthew→
director · ~53y · appointed 2008-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITS, Peter William→
director · ~58y · appointed 2008-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITS, Sarah Lindsay→
director · ~58y · appointed 2008-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUNT, Brenda Ann→
secretary · appointed 1993-07-19 · resigned 2008-04-30
Resigned
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-07-19 · resigned 1993-07-19
Resigned
HUNT, Brenda Ann→
director · ~81y · appointed 1993-07-19 · resigned 2008-04-30
Resigned
HUNT, Richard James William→
director · ~80y · appointed 1993-07-19 · resigned 2008-04-30
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-07-19 · resigned 1993-07-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (109 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-01
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-01
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-01
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-05-01
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-09