A & A DRAIN SERVICES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03314176 · ltd · incorporated 1997-02-06
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 28.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 39000
Sector: Water supply & waste
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 28.4y

70/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 28.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
90 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees5600

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 mortgage
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-11-17
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  3. 2025-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  4. 2024-07-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-02-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2024-02-13
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  7. 2024-02-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2023-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-02-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-02-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2022-02-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2022-02-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2022-02-10
    PARTINGTON, Lisa Marie appointed
    director
  15. 2022-02-10
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2021-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2021-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2019-05-29
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  20. 2019-05-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Apollo Business Finance Limited
  21. 2018-09-02
    GORNALL, Anthony Graham resigned
    director
  22. 1997-11-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  23. 1997-08-15
    GORNALL, Christine Margaret appointed
    secretary
  24. 1997-08-15
    SHELLEY, Andrew Paul resigned
    secretary
  25. 1997-06-05
    GORNALL, Anthony Graham appointed
    director
  26. 1997-02-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A & A DRAIN SERVICES LIMITED
  27. 1997-02-06
    GORNALL, Christine Margaret appointed
    director
  28. 1997-02-06
    SHELLEY, Andrew Paul appointed
    secretary
  29. 1997-02-06
    CHETTLEBURGH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1997-02-06
    CHETTLEBURGH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. 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 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Christine Margaret Gornall
Individual · British · DOB 02/1962 · age 64
75100%
75-100% shares17/06/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated1997-02-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC39000 — SIC 39000

Registered office

Unit 10 Highfield Road Industrial Estate
Little Hulton
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M38 9ST
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-23
Last: 2026-02-09

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

GORNALL, Christine Margaret
secretary · appointed 1997-08-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GORNALL, Christine Margaret
director · ~64y · appointed 1997-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PARTINGTON, Lisa Marie
director · ~45y · appointed 2022-02-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHELLEY, Andrew Paul
secretary · appointed 1997-02-06 · resigned 1997-08-15
Resigned
CHETTLEBURGH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-02-06 · resigned 1997-02-06
Resigned
GORNALL, Anthony Graham
director · ~64y · appointed 1997-06-05 · resigned 2018-09-02
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Apollo Business Finance
Apollo Business Finance Limited
A registered charge29/05/2019
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Debenture1 property27/11/199717/11/2025
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (90 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-26
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-13
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2024-02-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-02-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-02-16