ATLAS PACKING SERVICES LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
03257338 · ltd · incorporated 1996-10-01
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
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 17211
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 27.8y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 27.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 35/100 — 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
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
83 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
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 | 1200 | 1400 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (27 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-03-22📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2020-11-24➖MIDDLETON, Anita Julia resignedsecretary
- 2020-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-02📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-03-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-07-04🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Legal and General Property Partners (Industrial Fund) Limited and Legal and General Property Partners (Industrial) Nominees Limited
- 2002-05-16🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2001-11-01➕SANFORD, Paul appointeddirector
- 1998-10-02🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Joan Middleton
- 1996-10-01🏢Company incorporatedAs ATLAS PACKING SERVICES LIMITED
- 1996-10-01➕MIDDLETON, Christopher John appointeddirector
- 1996-10-01➕DIX, Margaret Ann appointedsecretary
- 1996-10-01➖DIX, Margaret Ann resignedsecretary
- 1996-10-01➕MIDDLETON, Anita Julia appointedsecretary
- 1996-10-01➕BRIGHTWELL, Eric Johann Frederick appointeddirector
- 1996-10-01➖BRIGHTWELL, Eric Johann Frederick resigneddirector
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 80 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- 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.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Christopher John Middleton Individual · British · DOB 11/1957 · age 69 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Paul Sanford Individual · British · DOB 06/1946 · age 80 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 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 →Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANGELNUMBERS LTD→ 13273332 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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| ATTICUS LINE LIMITED→ 15670507 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ATYAB TAMIM LIMITED→ 15540161 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AUDERE PURE LIMITED→ 17002372 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AURA QUALITY STONE LTD→ 14496510 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AUTO TECH CAR & VAN REPAIR LTD→ 16180385 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTO VILLAGE SLOUGH LTD→ 11749311 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AV PROFESSIONALS LTD→ 08403303 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AVENUE GROUP LTD→ 01706168 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 43y | — | — |
| AVIRE LIMITED→ 01006657 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 55y | — | — |
| AVIRE TRADING LIMITED→ 10249656 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1996-10-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC17211 — SIC 17211
Registered office
Unit 5, Poyle Technology Centre Willow Road
Colnbrook
Slough
Berkshire
SL3 0DP
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-13
Last: 2025-09-29
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
MIDDLETON, Christopher John→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 1996-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SANFORD, Paul→
Activedirector · ~80y · appointed 2001-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DIX, Margaret Ann→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-10-01 · resigned 1996-10-01
MIDDLETON, Anita Julia→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-10-01 · resigned 2020-11-24
BRIGHTWELL, Eric Johann Frederick→
Resigneddirector · ~77y · appointed 1996-10-01 · resigned 1996-10-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Legal and General Property Partners (Industrial Fund) and Legal and General Property Partners (Industrial) Nominees Legal and General Property Partners (Industrial Fund) Limited and Legal and General Property Partners (Industrial) Nominees Limited | Deposit deed | 1 property | 04/07/2012 | — | |
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 16/05/2002 | — | |
| outstanding | Joan Middleton | Debenture | 1 property | 02/10/1998 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (83 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-02
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2023-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-03-22
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-02