1ST CHOICE DRAINS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04894784 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-10
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
£-14.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other cleaning services
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (68/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £14,280

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£14k
Current Assets
£78k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-09-30
Total assets£66.2k
Current assets£78.4k
Net assets£-14.3k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-29
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-06-30
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2024-12-04
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2024-12-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2024-12-03
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2024-12-03
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2024-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-03-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-06-12
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  15. 2018-06-05
    ➖
    DEIGHTON, Gillian resigned
    secretary
  16. 2018-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-09-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  18. 2006-04-11
    ➕
    DEIGHTON, Gillian appointed
    secretary
  19. 2006-04-11
    ➖
    DRYSDALE, Paul resigned
    secretary
  20. 2003-09-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST CHOICE DRAINS LIMITED
  21. 2003-09-10
    ➕
    PATCHETT, Vincent appointed
    director
  22. 2003-09-10
    ➕
    DRYSDALE, Paul appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-09-10
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-09-10
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-09-10
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2003-09-10
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 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

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Vincent Patchett
Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2003-09-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC81299 — Other cleaning services

Registered office

15 Prospect Street
Bridlington
East Yorkshire
YO15 2AE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-28
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-24
Last: 2025-09-10

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

PATCHETT, Vincent→
director · ~66y · appointed 2003-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DEIGHTON, Gillian→
secretary · appointed 2006-04-11 · resigned 2018-06-05
Resigned
DRYSDALE, Paul→
secretary · appointed 2003-09-10 · resigned 2006-04-11
Resigned
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-09-10 · resigned 2003-09-10
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-09-10 · resigned 2003-09-10
Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-19
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-06-30
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-12-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-12-03
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-08