1ST LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03042133 · ltd · incorporated 1995-04-05

Investment thesis

Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.

Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.

Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Apr 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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

8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

80 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

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

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 · FRS 102

Metric	2025-04-30	2024-04-30

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand

2026-02-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-03-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-01-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-01-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-01-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-02-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-04-11
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2015-04-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-02-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2014-04-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2012-01-21
➖
TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart resigned
director
2007-07-11
➕
TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart appointed
secretary
2007-07-11
➕
TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart appointed
director
2007-07-10
➖
BEDFORD, Linda Mayanne resigned
secretary
2002-04-02
➖
MINGE, Josephine Mary resigned
secretary
2002-04-01
➖
TAYLOR, Denise resigned
secretary
2002-01-30
➕
BEDFORD, Linda Mayanne appointed
secretary
2000-03-23
➕
MINGE, Josephine Mary appointed
secretary
1995-04-05
🏢
Company incorporated
As 1ST LIMITED
1995-04-05
➕
TAYLOR, Denise appointed
secretary
1995-04-05
➕
ACCESS REGISTRARS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1995-04-05
➖
ACCESS REGISTRARS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1995-04-05
➕
TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart appointed
director
1995-04-05
➕
ACCESS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1995-04-05
➖
ACCESS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100

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 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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
Mr Malcolm Stuart Taylor Individual · British · DOB 02/1953 · age 73	75–100%	—	75-100% 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 →

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AARON ASSOCIATES (UK) LIMITED→ 05039898 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
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ABACUS ADVICE TAX & TRUSTS LIMITED→ 12003717 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ABACUS BOOKS LTD→ 13063909 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
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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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1995-04-05

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC77320 — Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment

Registered office

24 Rose Hill

Sutton

Surrey

SM1 3EU

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-19

Last: 2026-04-05

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart→

secretary · appointed 2007-07-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart→

director · ~73y · appointed 2007-07-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BEDFORD, Linda Mayanne→

secretary · appointed 2002-01-30 · resigned 2007-07-10

Resigned

MINGE, Josephine Mary→

secretary · appointed 2000-03-23 · resigned 2002-04-02

Resigned

TAYLOR, Denise→

secretary · appointed 1995-04-05 · resigned 2002-04-01

Resigned

ACCESS REGISTRARS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-04-05 · resigned 1995-04-05

Resigned

TAYLOR, Malcolm Stuart→

director · ~73y · appointed 1995-04-05 · resigned 2012-01-21

Resigned

ACCESS NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-04-05 · resigned 1995-04-05

Resigned

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