A & E NICHOLS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

04133410 · ltd · incorporated 2000-12-29

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 Jan 2025

Net worth

£331.5k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

47599Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -30% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

67 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

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £331,543

Net assets shrinking

Down £10,050 YoY

Cash YoY

-30%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£28k

↓ 30% YoY

Net Worth

£332k

↓ 2.9% YoY

Current Assets

£76k

↓ 13% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-01-31	2024-01-31
Total assets	£331.5k	£341.6k
Current assets	£75.7k	£87.0k
Cash	£28.4k	£40.8k
Debtors	£1.9k	£1.8k
Net assets	£331.5k	£341.6k

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

filing

• 1 officers

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 officers

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand

2026-04-07
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-03-25
➖
NICHOLS, Richard Barton resigned
director
2025-10-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-09-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-24
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-12-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date
annual-return · AR01
2014-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2004-04-06
➕
NICHOLS, Andrew David appointed
director
2000-12-29
🏢
Company incorporated
As A & E NICHOLS LIMITED
2000-12-29
➕
THE WILLIAM MARSHALL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2000-12-29
➕
NICHOLS, Lesley Isobelle appointed
director
2000-12-29
➕
NICHOLS, Richard Barton appointed
director

Owner dependency

100/100

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 "NICHOLS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 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 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Andrew David Nichols Individual · British · DOB 04/1983 · age 43	50–75%	50–75%	50-75% shares · 50-75% voting	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Retail · SA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
3035 RECORDS LTD→ 16891262 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3D UNIVERSE LIMITED→ 15209028 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
3PWELL LTD→ 16523146 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
49 APERITIF LIMITED→ 12205890 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
88 SWANSEA LIMITED→ 16581411 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
A & D MURCO FRIENDLY LTD→ 14595898 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
A DEAN CARPETS LIMITED→ 09511741 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
A.DHILLON LIMITED→ 13899531 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
A.F.SMITH & SONS,LIMITED→ 00212266 · est 1926 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	100y	—	—
AATHMEZHI FUEL LTD→ 15450441 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AATHMY ENTERPRISES LTD→ 09907479 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
ABBEY ACCESS LIMITED→ 06291230 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—

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

Incorporated2000-12-29

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC47520 — Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores

Registered office

Park View House

Ropewalk

Fishguard

Pembrokeshire

SA65 9BT

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-26

Last: 2025-11-12

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

THE WILLIAM MARSHALL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2000-12-29

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

NICHOLS, Andrew David→

director · ~43y · appointed 2004-04-06

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

NICHOLS, Lesley Isobelle→

director · ~71y · appointed 2000-12-29

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

NICHOLS, Richard Barton→

director · ~73y · appointed 2000-12-29 · resigned 2026-03-25

Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2026-04-07

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-11-12