CARLISLE FLIGHT TRAINING LTD

🌳Matureactive

05198292 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-05

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 21.5y old — refinance window within 12 months

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Aug 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Likely provides flight training and aviation education services from its Carlisle base, offering instruction to aspiring pilots across various licence levels, though its micro-entity accounts suggest a small-scale operation rather than a large training organisation.

Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.

Sector: Education

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (80/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 21.5y

70/100

ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

· Oldest live charge is 21.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Lenders & charges

3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)

Directors & officers

5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

64 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-08-31	2024-08-31
Average employees	200	200

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2026-04-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-02-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-06-15
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2017-06-15
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2017-01-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-10-20
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2016-10-20
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2016-10-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2016-10-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2016-01-13
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2016-01-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2007-06-19
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Close Brothers Limited
2007-06-19
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Close Brothers Limited
2004-11-03
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
2004-08-12
➖
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-12
➖
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2004-08-05
🏢
Company incorporated
As CARLISLE FLIGHT TRAINING LTD
2004-08-05
➕
RAYSON, Helen Clare appointed
secretary
2004-08-05
➕
RAYSON, Alan Edward appointed
director
2004-08-05
➕
RAYSON, Helen Clare appointed
director
2004-08-05
➕
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-05
➕
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100

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

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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

1 med ·

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Alan Edward Rayson Individual · British · DOB 03/1967 · age 59	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	30/06/2016
Mrs Helen Clare Rayson Individual · British · DOB 11/1970 · age 56	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	30/06/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Education & training · CA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ACTIVE ARK LIMITED→ 04136124 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
ADVANCED SAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAINING LIMITED→ 09097131 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ALFIE'S PROJECT CARLISLE CIC→ 15489940 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ANTIQUIUS LTD→ 15773321 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ASPIRE ACADEMY CUMBRIA CIC→ 14360801 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
BIKE, HIKE & PADDLE LTD→ 15958232 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
BRIDGE THE GAP SALES LTD→ 17123996 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
CANOES, MOUNTAINS & CAVES COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY→ 14596917 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
CARLISLE GYMNASTICS CLUB LIMITED→ 10270495 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
CARLISLE SECONDARY LEARNING CONSORTIUM LIMITED→ 07404696 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—
CARLISLE WAVERLEY VIADUCT TRUST→ 09668596 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
CARMEL BONES EDUCATION LIMITED→ 08667844 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—

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

Incorporated2004-08-05

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.

Registered office

Hangar 30 Carlisle Airport

Crosby On Eden

Carlisle

Cumbria

CA6 4NW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-05-31

Last made up to: 2025-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-15

Last: 2025-08-01

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

RAYSON, Helen Clare→

secretary · appointed 2004-08-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RAYSON, Alan Edward→

director · ~59y · appointed 2004-08-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RAYSON, Helen Clare→

director · ~56y · appointed 2004-08-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-05 · resigned 2004-08-12

Resigned

FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-05 · resigned 2004-08-12

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown

		Type	Properties
satisfied	Close Brothers Close Brothers Limited	Aircraft mortgage	1 property	19/06/2007	20/10/2016
satisfied	Close Brothers Close Brothers Limited	Aircraft mortgage	1 property	19/06/2007	20/10/2016
satisfied	HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	03/11/2004	15/06/2017