1ST OFFICE EQUIPMENT LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

03690919 · ltd · incorporated 1998-12-31

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 27.3y old — refinance window within 12 months

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Dec 2024

Net worth

£3.44M

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Renting and leasing of office machinery and equipment (including computers)

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 27.3y

70/100

ready

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

· Oldest live charge is 27.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)

Directors & officers

13 officers (6 active, 13 linked, 11 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

5 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

101 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £3,443,145

Cash YoY

+67%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£1.2m

↑ 67% YoY

Net Worth

£3.4m

↑ 7.2% YoY

Current Assets

£1.9m

↑ 1.2% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-12-31	2023-12-31
Total assets	£3.55M	£3.32M
Current assets	£1.91M	£1.89M
Cash	£1.24M	£740.0k
Debtors	£592.7k	£1.00M
Net assets	£3.44M	£3.21M

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

• 3 officers

Last 180 days

filings

• 6 officers
• 3 capital
• 3 persons-with-significant-control

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (51 events)Click to expand

2026-04-01
➕
EVANS, Mark John appointed
director
2026-04-01
➕
MCWILLIAM, Catherine Elizabeth appointed
director
2026-04-01
➕
NORMAN, Peter appointed
director
2026-04-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-04-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-04-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-01-15
📄
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2026-01-13
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-13
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-13
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-13
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-01-06
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-01-06
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-12-19
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-12-19
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-12-01
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-12-01
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-11-27
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2025-11-27
📄
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2025-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-14
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-03-14
🔓
Charge satisfied #5
2022-03-14
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2021-05-07
➖
PHILLIPS, John Bertram resigned
director
2017-08-25
➖
PURVIS, Thomas Alexander resigned
director
2015-07-06
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
2014-01-09
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
2014-01-09
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
2014-01-08
➕
JONES, Andrew Richard Miles appointed
director
2014-01-06
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2014-01-06
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2013-12-15
➖
LENCH, Robert James George resigned
director
2013-02-28
➖
GENGE, Colin Bevin John resigned
director
2009-10-01
➕
WARRENDER, Ernest John Valentine appointed
director
2009-10-01
➖
WARRENDER, Ernest John Valentine resigned
director
2008-03-20
➖
ROPER, Richard Anthony resigned
director
2008-03-19
➕
LENCH, Robert James George appointed
director
2008-03-19
➕
PHILLIPS, John Bertram appointed
director
2008-03-19
➕
PURVIS, Thomas Alexander appointed
director
2005-05-09
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
2004-02-12
➕
ROPER, Richard Anthony appointed
director
2000-01-01
➕
GENGE, Colin Bevin John appointed
director
1999-02-11
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
1998-12-31
🏢
Company incorporated
As 1ST OFFICE EQUIPMENT LIMITED
1998-12-31
➕
ROPER, Richard Anthony appointed
secretary
1998-12-31
➕
BRISTOL LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-12-31
➖
BRISTOL LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary

Showing most recent 50 of 51 events

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

73/100

Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 med ·

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Ms Katherine Georgina Warrender Individual · British · DOB 07/1991 · age 35	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	25/11/2025
Mr Ernest John Valentine Warrender Individual · British · DOB 02/1956 · age 70	—	75–100%	75-100% 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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613 CONSULTANCY LTD→ 14527610 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
6IXPROCESSDESIGN LIMITED→ 13394927 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
90-FIVE LTD→ 15454637 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
986 LIMITED→ 09651856 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
A B COMPLIANCE SERVICES LTD→ 11647905 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
A&B ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD→ 14538174 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
A4 ASBESTOS GROUP LIMITED→ 13043138 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1998-12-31

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC77330 — Renting and leasing of office machinery and equipment (including computers)

Registered office

Unit 14 The Maltings The Maltings Industrial Estate

Brassmill Lane

Bath

Somerset

BA1 3JL

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-14

Last: 2025-12-31