A D BEARINGS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

04489881 · ltd · incorporated 2002-07-18

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 Aug 2024

Net worth

£223.7k

book net assets

Opportunity

81/100

Exceptional

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

What this business does

Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

54 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

81/100Exceptional

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 £223,690

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£224k

↑ 2.8% YoY

Current Assets

£283k

↑ 7.0% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-08-31	2023-08-31
Total assets	£223.7k	£217.6k
Current assets	£283.3k	£264.8k
Net assets	£223.7k	£217.6k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2025-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-04-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-04-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-04-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-05-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-07-31
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-03
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-05-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-07-29
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2002-07-18
🏢
Company incorporated
As A D BEARINGS LIMITED
2002-07-18
➕
BUTTERFIELD, Andrew Mark appointed
secretary
2002-07-18
➕
BUTTERFIELD, Andrew Mark appointed
director
2002-07-18
➕
DAVISON, Allen appointed
director
2002-07-18
➕
UK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-07-18
➖
UK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-07-18
➕
UK INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-07-18
➖
UK INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — 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 63. 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Alan Davison Individual · British · DOB 02/1964 · age 62	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	18/07/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · LS postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
10T DIGITAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 17075149 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3 D AIR SALES LIMITED→ 03308799 · est 1997 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	—	—
39F LIMITED→ 15122518 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
3D PLUS LTD→ 10965805 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
3PT CONSULTANTS LTD→ 13287735 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
4SYMBOLS LTD→ 11687558 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
A BITE LTD→ 13972643 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
A C SMITH METALS LTD→ 15266622 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
A.B.I. GARAGE DOORS LIMITED→ 02441095 · est 1989 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	36y	—	—
AASHEN CATERING LTD→ 14708071 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AB CASH N CARRY LTD→ 16703509 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AB GARDENING SUPPLIES LTD→ 11140093 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-07-18

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade

Registered office

Unit 5 Southfield Mills

Topcliffe Lane

Morley Leeds

West Yorkshire

LS27 0HW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-05-31

Last made up to: 2024-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-01

Last: 2025-07-18

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

BUTTERFIELD, Andrew Mark→

secretary · appointed 2002-07-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BUTTERFIELD, Andrew Mark→

director · ~63y · appointed 2002-07-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DAVISON, Allen→

director · ~62y · appointed 2002-07-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

UK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-07-18 · resigned 2002-07-18

Resigned

UK INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-07-18 · resigned 2002-07-18

Resigned

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