A1 INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

04521431 · ltd · incorporated 2002-08-29

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 Dec 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Investigation activities

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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, 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

8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 6 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

90 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-12-31	2024-12-31
Average employees	200	200

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

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand

2026-01-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-08
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-04-08
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-04-07
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-04-07
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-03-27
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-03-27
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-03-27
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-03-18
➕
TATLER, Anna appointed
director
2024-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-03-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2013-04-19
➖
NEED, Tracey resigned
secretary
2013-04-19
➖
NEED, Tracey resigned
director
2013-02-28
➖
HOWARTH, Sarah Jane resigned
director
2012-11-15
➖
NEED, Tracey resigned
director
2012-03-15
➕
NEED, Tracey appointed
director
2012-03-05
➕
NEED, Tracey appointed
director
2008-01-01
➕
HOWARTH, Sarah Jane appointed
director
2002-08-29
🏢
Company incorporated
As A1 INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU LIMITED
2002-08-29
➕
NEED, Roger Albert appointed
director
2002-08-29
➕
NEED, Tracey appointed
secretary
2002-08-29
➕
THOMAS, Howard appointed
nominee-secretary
2002-08-29
➖
THOMAS, Howard resigned
nominee-secretary
2002-08-29
➕
TESTER, William Andrew Joseph appointed
nominee-director
2002-08-29
➖
TESTER, William Andrew Joseph resigned
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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

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 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Roger Albert Need Individual · British · DOB 08/1946 · age 80	50–75%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	01/01/2017
Miss Anna Tatler Individual · British · DOB 07/2000 · age 26	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	18/03/2024

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

Similar companies

Active · Trade services · CW postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
10 YEARS YOUNGER AESTHETICS CHESHIRE LIMITED→ 16177225 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
247PMIUK LIMITED→ 16373053 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
3C8 SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 15733066 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
4U BARBER LTD→ 16349450 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
7 SHAKESPEARE PROPERTIES LTD→ 14370729 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
7TH CLICK LTD→ 16444868 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
9365 WELLNESS LTD→ 16149418 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
A & C AESTHETICS CHESHIRE LTD.→ 12878100 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
A CLASS SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16671386 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
A D S MUSIC PRODUCTION LIMITED→ 07921497 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
AA HAIR & BEAUTY LTD→ 14729599 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AAA RATED LIMITED→ 06729369 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-08-29

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC80300 — Investigation activities

Registered office

Office G16, Scope House

Weston Road

Crewe

Cheshire

CW1 6DD

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-09-30

Last made up to: 2025-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-19

Last: 2026-01-05

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

NEED, Roger Albert→

director · ~80y · appointed 2002-08-29

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

TATLER, Anna→

director · ~26y · appointed 2024-03-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

NEED, Tracey→

secretary · appointed 2002-08-29 · resigned 2013-04-19

Resigned

THOMAS, Howard→

nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-08-29 · resigned 2002-08-29

Resigned

HOWARTH, Sarah Jane→

director · ~53y · appointed 2008-01-01 · resigned 2013-02-28

Resigned

NEED, Tracey→

director · ~60y · appointed 2012-03-15 · resigned 2013-04-19

Resigned

NEED, Tracey→

director · ~60y · appointed 2012-03-05 · resigned 2012-11-15

Resigned

TESTER, William Andrew Joseph→

nominee-director · ~64y · appointed 2002-08-29 · resigned 2002-08-29

Resigned

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

Recent filings (90 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-01-26

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-01-10

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-02-10

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-01-09

resolution

resolution · RESOLUTIONS

2024-04-08

memorandum-articles

incorporation · MA

2024-04-08

capital-allotment-shares

capital · SH01

2024-04-07

resolution

resolution · RESOLUTIONS

2024-04-07

notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC01

2024-03-27

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC04

2024-03-27

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2024-03-27

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-01-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-01-08

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2023-02-10

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-01-09