1ST CHOICE TRANSPORT LTD

💤Zombieactive
05325832 · ltd · incorporated 2005-01-06
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 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 49390
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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 (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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Average employees31002600

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-04-04
    ➕
    PHILLIPS, Nicola Jane appointed
    secretary
  5. 2024-04-04
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  6. 2022-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-02-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-11-22
    ➖
    PHILLIPS, Eifion resigned
    secretary
  9. 2021-11-22
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  10. 2021-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-11-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2005-01-31
    ➕
    PHILLIPS, Eifion appointed
    secretary
  16. 2005-01-31
    ➖
    PLAICE, Nicola resigned
    secretary
  17. 2005-01-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST CHOICE TRANSPORT LTD
  18. 2005-01-06
    ➕
    PHILLIPS, Alun appointed
    director
  19. 2005-01-06
    ➕
    LAZARUS, Heather Ann appointed
    nominee-secretary
  20. 2005-01-06
    ➖
    LAZARUS, Heather Ann resigned
    nominee-secretary
  21. 2005-01-06
    ➕
    PLAICE, Nicola appointed
    secretary
  22. 2005-01-06
    ➕
    LAZARUS, Harry Pierre appointed
    nominee-director
  23. 2005-01-06
    ➖
    LAZARUS, Harry Pierre resigned
    nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 63. 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 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alun Phillips
Individual · Welsh · DOB 09/1963 · age 63
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/06/2016
Mrs Nicola Jane Phillips
Individual · Welsh · DOB 05/1973 · age 53
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/06/2016

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

7 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
Incorporated2005-01-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49390 — SIC 49390

Registered office

The Transport Depot
Sandy Road
Llanelli
Carmarthenshire
SA15 4DP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-16
Last: 2026-02-02

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

PHILLIPS, Nicola Jane→
secretary · appointed 2024-04-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PHILLIPS, Alun→
director · ~63y · appointed 2005-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAZARUS, Heather Ann→
nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-01-06 · resigned 2005-01-06
Resigned
PHILLIPS, Eifion→
secretary · appointed 2005-01-31 · resigned 2021-11-22
Resigned
PLAICE, Nicola→
secretary · appointed 2005-01-06 · resigned 2005-01-31
Resigned
LAZARUS, Harry Pierre→
nominee-director · ~89y · appointed 2005-01-06 · resigned 2005-01-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (60 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-11
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-04-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-31
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-30