1ST CHOICE SCAFFOLDING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04936324 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-17
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Scaffold erection
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company 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
56 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2003-10-17🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST CHOICE SCAFFOLDING LIMITED
- 2003-10-17➕BALL, Lesley Ann appointedsecretary
- 2003-10-17➕BALL, Albert David appointeddirector
- 2003-10-17➕SUBSCRIBER SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-10-17➖SUBSCRIBER SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-10-17➕SUBSCRIBER DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-director
- 2003-10-17➖SUBSCRIBER DIRECTORS LIMITED 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 Albert David Ball Individual · British · DOB 03/1955 · age 71 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Lesley Ball Individual · British · DOB 02/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| 2ELEV8 LIMITED→ 12870435 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 2LITTLE DESIGN AND ENGINEERING LTD→ 15223877 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 33 DEGREE CONSTRUCTION LTD→ 16980948 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 360 HEATING ENGINEERS LIMITED→ 15959622 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 38NBS LTD→ 12810527 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 4KAST LTD→ 06762633 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| 4POS LIMITED→ 16426769 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 HARTINGTON ROAD MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 05845997 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-10-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43991 — Scaffold erection
Registered office
Unit 2 Kirkby Bank Road
Knowsley Industrial Park
Liverpool
L33 7SY
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last: 2025-10-17
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
BALL, Albert David→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2003-10-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SUBSCRIBER SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2003-10-17 · resigned 2003-10-17
SUBSCRIBER DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2003-10-17 · resigned 2003-10-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (56 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-13