A E THOMSON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04652970 · ltd · incorporated 2003-01-30
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2026
Net worth
£613.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -52% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 23.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 23.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)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
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £613,013
Cash draining
Cash down 52% YoY
Cash YoY
-52%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£118k
↓ 52% YoY
Net Worth
£613k
↑ 40% YoY
Current Assets
£1.1m
↑ 41% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2026-01-31 | 2025-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £643.5k | £480.8k |
| Current assets | £1.12M | £791.2k |
| Cash | £117.8k | £247.5k |
| Debtors | £551.1k | £223.7k |
| Net assets | £613.0k | £438.5k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-02-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-12📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-12-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-10📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-09-10📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2021-09-10📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-09-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-03-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-01➕SETCHELL, Martin James appointeddirector
- 2021-03-01➖BOYALL, Keith William resignedsecretary
- 2021-03-01➖BOYALL, Keith William resigneddirector
- 2020-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2010-11-10➖MARTELL, Melvyn Gary resigneddirector
- 2006-02-01➕SMITH, Nigel Darren appointeddirector
- 2004-11-20🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2003-05-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2003-01-30🏢Company incorporatedAs A E THOMSON LIMITED
- 2003-01-30➕BOYALL, Keith William appointedsecretary
- 2003-01-30➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-01-30➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-01-30➕BOYALL, Keith William appointeddirector
- 2003-01-30➕MARTELL, Melvyn Gary appointeddirector
Owner dependency
68/100
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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
66/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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.)
Group structure
A E Thomson (Uk) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
A E Thomson (Uk) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
A E THOMSON LIMITED
This company · 04652970
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A E Thomson (Uk) Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/07/2016 |
Mr Nigel Darren Smith Individual · British · DOB 10/1974 · age 52 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 01/07/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Keith William Boyallceased 01/03/2021· significant influence
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
Active · Financial services · PE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2AJF LTD→ 15271718 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A & J QUANT CAPITAL LTD→ 16501402 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A.S MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LTD→ 15407499 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADVANCED MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 05670052 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ADVANCED MORTGAGES LTD→ 12198598 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADVOCATE MORTGAGE & PROTECTION LTD→ 16586658 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AETERNUS ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 15554248 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AGENTIS FINANCIAL AND MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 08914933 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AHADRA LIMITED→ 06922330 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AIIC GROUPCO 1 LTD→ 08318842 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ALBERT CAPITAL LIMITED→ 08917116 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ALBION 25 LTD→ 16856866 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-01-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC66190 — Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding
Registered office
22-26 King Street
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 1HJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-10
Last: 2026-01-27
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
SETCHELL, Martin James→
Activedirector · ~46y · appointed 2021-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Nigel Darren→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2006-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BOYALL, Keith William→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-01-30 · resigned 2021-03-01
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-01-30 · resigned 2003-01-30
BOYALL, Keith William→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2003-01-30 · resigned 2021-03-01
MARTELL, Melvyn Gary→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2003-01-30 · resigned 2010-11-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 13/05/2003 | 20/11/2004 |
Recent filings (67 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-12-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-01