1ST FOUNDATIONS LTD
💤Zombieactive
05070908 · ltd · incorporated 2004-03-11
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£1.37M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -75% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 15.4y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 15.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,370,704
Net assets shrinking
Down £227,937 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 75% YoY
Cash YoY
-75%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£49k
↓ 75% YoY
Net Worth
£1.4m
↓ 14% YoY
Current Assets
£346k
↓ 52% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.59M | £1.87M |
| Current assets | £346.1k | £719.2k |
| Cash | £49.2k | £194.4k |
| Debtors | £91.3k | £168.7k |
| Net assets | £1.37M | £1.60M |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-31📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-14📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2018-12-11➖BODDEY, Karen Ann resignedsecretary
- 2018-08-08📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2018-08-08🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2018-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-16📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-26📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2016-02-19🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Joseph Alfred Douglas Mills
- 2014-01-15🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
- 2010-12-15🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
- 2010-12-15🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
- 2004-03-30➕FITZHUGH, Anthony appointeddirector
- 2004-03-30➕BODDEY, Karen Ann appointedsecretary
- 2004-03-30➖ARGUS NOMINEE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-03-30➖ARGUS NOMINEE DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2004-03-11🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST FOUNDATIONS LTD
- 2004-03-11➕ARGUS NOMINEE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-03-11➕ARGUS NOMINEE DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-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 22 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 candidateStrong 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Anthony Fitzhugh Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Construction · DE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13D LIMITED→ 14621607 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 183 KEDLESTON LTD→ 14354664 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 2 BUILDERS DERBY LTD→ 12890068 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 24HOURS RAPID RESPONSE PLUMBER LIMITED→ 16858145 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24HR ROOFING LIMITED→ 16201143 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 2CANDO LOGISTICAL PROPERTY SERVICES LTD→ 10275638 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 3 CORE SPARKIES LTD→ 16921184 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 D DECOR LIMITED→ 02499056 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| 345 DESIGN & BUILD LTD→ 12814731 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 3D WINDOWS LIMITED→ 07718081 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| 4D MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED→ 05001507 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| 4D PROPERTY SERVICES LIMITED→ 12053448 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
9 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
Incorporated2004-03-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Poplars Farm Moor Lane
Ockbrook
Derby
Derbyshire
DE72 3SA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-25
Last: 2026-03-11
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
FITZHUGH, Anthony→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2004-03-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BODDEY, Karen Ann→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-03-30 · resigned 2018-12-11
ARGUS NOMINEE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-03-11 · resigned 2004-03-30
ARGUS NOMINEE DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-03-11 · resigned 2004-03-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Joseph Alfred Douglas Mills | A registered charge | 1 property | 19/02/2016 | 08/08/2018 | |
| outstanding | Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ) | A registered charge | 1 property | 15/01/2014 | — | |
| outstanding | Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ) | Legal mortgage | 1 property | 15/12/2010 | — | |
| outstanding | Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ) | Mortgage debenture | 1 property | 15/12/2010 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (61 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-05-31