AINSCOUGH HIRE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03467647 · ltd · incorporated 1997-11-18
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£1.02M
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -65% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (3 active, 9 linked, 4 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
98 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,021,343
Net assets shrinking
Down £88,751 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 65% YoY
Cash YoY
-65%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£254k
↓ 65% YoY
Net Worth
£1.0m
↓ 8.0% YoY
Current Assets
£806k
↓ 24% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£222k£444k£666k£888k£1.1mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£1.10M£1.23M
Current assets£805.6k£1.06M
Cash£253.5k£728.6k
Debtors£489.9k£277.6k
Net assets£1.02M£1.11M

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-09
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  5. 2023-02-09
    📄
    capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
    capital · SH10
  6. 2023-02-09
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  7. 2022-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-05-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2020-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-10-23
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2019-10-16
    📄
    capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
    capital · SH10
  14. 2019-10-16
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  15. 2019-10-16
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  16. 2019-10-02
    ➕
    MARSDEN, Charlotte Jayne appointed
    director
  17. 2018-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2011-11-18
    ➕
    SMITH, Stuart Prior appointed
    secretary
  19. 2011-11-18
    ➖
    SIMM, Graham resigned
    secretary
  20. 2005-09-02
    ➖
    AINSCOUGH, Samuel Horridge resigned
    director
  21. 1998-03-16
    ➕
    AINSCOUGH, Samuel James appointed
    director
  22. 1998-03-16
    ➕
    SIMM, Graham appointed
    secretary
  23. 1998-03-16
    ➖
    SMITH, Stuart Prior resigned
    secretary
  24. 1998-03-16
    ➖
    AINSCOUGH, Joseph John resigned
    director
  25. 1998-03-16
    ➕
    AINSCOUGH, Samuel Horridge appointed
    director
  26. 1997-11-26
    ➕
    SMITH, Stuart Prior appointed
    secretary
  27. 1997-11-26
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1997-11-26
    ➕
    AINSCOUGH, Joseph John appointed
    director
  29. 1997-11-26
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 1997-11-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AINSCOUGH HIRE LIMITED
  31. 1997-11-18
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 1997-11-18
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "AINSCOUGH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

66/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 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
Mr Samuel James Ainscough
Individual · British · DOB 07/1974 · age 52
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control17/11/2016

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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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
Incorporated1997-11-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC77390 — Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.

Registered office

Steelpoint
Staveley Road
Skelmersdale
Lancashire
WN8 8DZ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-08
Last: 2026-04-24

Officers (3 active · 6 resigned)

SMITH, Stuart Prior→
secretary · appointed 2011-11-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
AINSCOUGH, Samuel James→
director · ~52y · appointed 1998-03-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MARSDEN, Charlotte Jayne→
director · ~33y · appointed 2019-10-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SIMM, Graham→
secretary · appointed 1998-03-16 · resigned 2011-11-18
Resigned
SMITH, Stuart Prior→
secretary · appointed 1997-11-26 · resigned 1998-03-16
Resigned
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-11-18 · resigned 1997-11-26
Resigned
AINSCOUGH, Joseph John→
director · ~75y · appointed 1997-11-26 · resigned 1998-03-16
Resigned
AINSCOUGH, Samuel Horridge→
director · ~81y · appointed 1998-03-16 · resigned 2005-09-02
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-11-18 · resigned 1997-11-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (98 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-24
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-02-09
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2023-02-09
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2023-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-05-07