A1 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD.
🌳Matureactive
03273618 · ltd · incorporated 1996-11-05
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 29.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Demolition
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 29.5y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 29.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
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 | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1800 | 1800 |
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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-10📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-06-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-06-09📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2025-06-09📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-06-09📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2025-05-31➕KNOWLES, Michelle Ann appointedsecretary
- 2025-05-31➕KNOWLES, Michael appointeddirector
- 2025-05-31➖KNOWLES, Danuta Anna resignedsecretary
- 2025-05-31➖KNOWLES, Danuta Anna resigneddirector
- 2024-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-31📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-03-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 1996-11-27🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1996-11-05🏢Company incorporatedAs A1 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD.
- 1996-11-05➕KNOWLES, Robert appointeddirector
- 1996-11-05➕KNOWLES, Danuta Anna appointedsecretary
- 1996-11-05➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1996-11-05➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1996-11-05➕KNOWLES, Danuta Anna appointeddirector
Owner dependency
91/100
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 70 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — KNOWLES, Michael (same surname) appointed 2025-05-31. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 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.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
1 med ·2 director resignations in last 12 months
mediumMultiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.
Evidence: KNOWLES, Danuta Anna resigned 2025-05-31; KNOWLES, Danuta Anna resigned 2025-05-31
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert Knowles Individual · British · DOB 05/1956 · age 70 | 50–75% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Danuta Anna Knowlesceased 31/05/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Mr Michael Knowlesceased 21/01/2020· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| AA PAVING & BUILDING LIMITED→ 13954013 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AA THRUSTBORING SERVICES LIMITED→ 04979295 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AB KHAN TRAFFIC LTD→ 14850338 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1996-11-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43110 — Demolition
Registered office
4 The Paddock Low Green
Catterick Village
Richmond
North Yorkshire
DL10 7RZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-12
Last: 2025-10-29
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
KNOWLES, Michelle Ann→
Activesecretary · appointed 2025-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KNOWLES, Michael→
Activedirector · ~42y · appointed 2025-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KNOWLES, Robert→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 1996-11-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KNOWLES, Danuta Anna→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-11-05 · resigned 2025-05-31
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-11-05 · resigned 1996-11-05
KNOWLES, Danuta Anna→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 1996-11-05 · resigned 2025-05-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 2 properties | 27/11/1996 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (75 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-06-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-06-09
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2025-06-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-09
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-06-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-08