1ST LOOK LTD
🌳Matureactive
03212619 · ltd · incorporated 1996-06-17
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Television programme production activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 90030Artistic creation
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
100 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 700 | 400 |
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 (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-19📄capital-alter-shares-subdivisioncapital · SH02
- 2025-08-19📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2025-08-19📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-08-19📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-08-19📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-08-19📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2025-08-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2025-08-15📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2025-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-06-19📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-06-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 1996-06-17🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST LOOK LTD
- 1996-06-17➕CARTER HANRAHAN, Gillian Mary appointedsecretary
- 1996-06-17➕CARTER HANRAHAN, Gillian Mary appointeddirector
- 1996-06-17➕HANRAHAN, William Gerard appointeddirector
- 1996-06-17➕LUCIENE JAMES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 1996-06-17➖LUCIENE JAMES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 1996-06-17➕LUCIENE JAMES LIMITED appointedcorporate-director
- 1996-06-17➖LUCIENE JAMES LIMITED resignedcorporate-director
Owner dependency
83/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
86/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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.)
Group structure
Bonify Ltd holds 25-50% — a significant corporate investor but not a controlling parent.
🏛️significant stake
Bonify Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 25-50% shares
⬇
1ST LOOK LTD
This company · 03212619
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bonify Ltd Corporate entity | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 12/08/2025 |
Mr William Gerard Hanrahan Individual · British · DOB 03/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 17/06/2017 |
Mrs Gillian Mary Carter Hanrahan Individual · British · DOB 01/1957 · age 69 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 17/06/2017 |
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 · Technology · CV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 POINT 3 CREATIVE LTD→ 09914077 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 1-BIT WONDER LIMITED→ 14307834 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 18ORANGES LTD→ 15569510 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 2020MEDIAGB LTD→ 15432393 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 28 OSL LIMITED→ 07243090 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| 2CONSULT LIMITED→ 13621585 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 2DOWN PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 17009033 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 303 CONSULTING LTD→ 16818086 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3COMP LABS UK LIMITED→ 10875896 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 3IKUDOS LIMITED→ 10743562 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 3MEN DATALYTICS LTD→ 14279928 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 3POINT CREATION LTD→ 16128204 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1996-06-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC59113 — Television programme production activities
Registered office
Celixir House Stratford Business & Technology Park
Innovation Way, Banbury Road
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Warwickshire
CV37 7GZ
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-01
Last: 2025-06-17
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
CARTER HANRAHAN, Gillian Mary→
Activesecretary · appointed 1996-06-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CARTER HANRAHAN, Gillian Mary→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 1996-06-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HANRAHAN, William Gerard→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 1996-06-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LUCIENE JAMES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 1996-06-17 · resigned 1996-06-17
LUCIENE JAMES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 1996-06-17 · resigned 1996-06-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (100 total)
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2025-08-19
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2025-08-19
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-08-19
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-08-19
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-08-19
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2025-08-19
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2025-08-15
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-30