1ST FOR FABRICS LTD
💤Zombieactive
04903507 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-18
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£85.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47510
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). 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 (75/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £85,085
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£85k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£112k
↓ 5.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £85.2k | £81.4k |
| Current assets | £112.1k | £118.6k |
| Net assets | £85.1k | £75.9k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-05📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-04-29📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2020-04-16📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2019-11-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-18📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-10-18📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2016-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-09-18🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST FOR FABRICS LTD
- 2003-09-18➕SHERBURN, Julie appointedsecretary
- 2003-09-18➕SHERBURN, Brian appointeddirector
- 2003-09-18➕CF CLIENT SECRETARY LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-09-18➖CF CLIENT SECRETARY LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-09-18➕CF CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD appointedcorporate-director
- 2003-09-18➖CF CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD resignedcorporate-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 71 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
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 Brian Sherburn Individual · British · DOB 06/1955 · age 71 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Julie Christine Sherburn Individual · British · DOB 10/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| 4L PRIVATE LIMITED→ 15390221 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 5FLOOR321 DIRECT LIMITED→ 12518847 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 5STARSOLE LIMITED→ 13424538 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 5TH AVENUE FLOWERS LTD→ 12340127 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 724 ESSENTIALS LIMITED→ 16726869 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 999TAJGROUP LTD→ 16415811 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9T8 LIMITED→ 14982882 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A. C. GOLF SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 07104804 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-09-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47510 — SIC 47510
Registered office
Unit 9b North Tyne Industrial Estate
Whitley Road
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE12 9SZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-19
Last: 2025-05-05
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
SHERBURN, Brian→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2003-09-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CF CLIENT SECRETARY LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2003-09-18 · resigned 2003-09-18
CF CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2003-09-18 · resigned 2003-09-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (64 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-09
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2020-05-05
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2020-04-29
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2020-04-16