1ST CHOICE FINISHES LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04138166 · ltd · incorporated 2001-01-10
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 24.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 24.9y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 24.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · 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
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
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
77 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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 500 | 600 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 signals 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
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-21📄capital-return-purchase-own-sharescapital · SH03
- 2020-01-09📄capital-cancellation-sharescapital · SH06
- 2020-01-08📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-01-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-10-31➖KNOWLES, Paul Derek resigneddirector
- 2018-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-05-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-04-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-08📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2015-03-04🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2007-08-03🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2001-05-31🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2001-01-10🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST CHOICE FINISHES LIMITED
- 2001-01-10➕COLE, David John appointedsecretary
- 2001-01-10➕COLE, David John appointeddirector
- 2001-01-10➕HILL, Michael Leslie appointeddirector
- 2001-01-10➕TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-01-10➖TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-01-10➕KNOWLES, Paul Derek appointeddirector
- 2001-01-10➕COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2001-01-10➖COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David John Cole Individual · English · DOB 09/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/01/2017 |
Mr Michael Leslie Hill Individual · English · DOB 07/1969 · age 57 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/01/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Paul Derek Knowlesceased 31/10/2019· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| 34 DOUGLAS AVENUE MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 10307911 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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| 37 HALDON ROAD (EXETER) MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 03384319 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2001-01-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Unit 6 Exhibition Way
Pinhoe
Exeter
Devon
EX4 8JD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-20
Last: 2026-01-06
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
Active
COLE, David John→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2001-01-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HILL, Michael Leslie→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2001-01-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-01-10 · resigned 2001-01-10
KNOWLES, Paul Derek→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 2001-01-10 · resigned 2019-10-31
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-01-10 · resigned 2001-01-10
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 03/08/2007 | — | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 31/05/2001 | 04/03/2015 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (77 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-27
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2020-01-21
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2020-01-09