1ST4DRIVING LTD

💤Zombieactive
05341405 · ltd · incorporated 2005-01-25
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£28.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Driving school activities
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £28,279

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£28k
↑ 45% YoY
Current Assets
£354
↓ 86% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£11k£17k£23k£28kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£24.5k£12.8k
Current assets£354£2.6k
Net assets£28.3k£19.5k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 address
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 address
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 address
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-02-27
    ➕
    FOSTER, David appointed
    director
  4. 2025-02-27
    ➖
    GIBBONS, Steven resigned
    director
  5. 2025-02-27
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2025-02-27
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  7. 2024-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-08-05
    ➖
    COURTS, Michael resigned
    director
  11. 2022-08-05
    ➕
    GIBBONS, Steven appointed
    director
  12. 2022-08-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2022-08-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2022-08-05
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  15. 2022-08-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2022-07-31
    ➖
    FOSTER, David Leslie resigned
    director
  17. 2022-07-31
    ➖
    ZHANG, Xiu Fang resigned
    director
  18. 2022-07-28
    ➕
    COURTS, Michael appointed
    director
  19. 2022-07-28
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2022-07-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  21. 2022-07-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  22. 2021-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2020-10-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  24. 2019-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  25. 2015-12-03
    ➕
    ZHANG, Xiu Fang appointed
    director
  26. 2013-01-25
    ➖
    RUSSELL, Julie resigned
    secretary
  27. 2008-12-23
    ➕
    RUSSELL, Julie appointed
    secretary
  28. 2008-12-23
    ➖
    DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 2008-12-23
    ➕
    FOSTER, David Leslie appointed
    director
  30. 2008-12-23
    ➖
    VALAITIS, Peter Anthony resigned
    director
  31. 2008-12-23
    ➖
    DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 2008-09-11
    ➕
    VALAITIS, Peter Anthony appointed
    director
  33. 2005-01-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST4DRIVING LTD
  34. 2005-01-25
    ➕
    DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  35. 2005-01-25
    ➕
    DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Leslie Foster
Individual · British · DOB 06/1961 · age 65
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting30/06/2016

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

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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2005-01-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85530 — Driving school activities

Registered office

52 Fore Street
Callington
PL17 7AJ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last: 2025-12-17

Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)

FOSTER, David→
director · ~65y · appointed 2025-02-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUSSELL, Julie→
secretary · appointed 2008-12-23 · resigned 2013-01-25
Resigned
DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-01-25 · resigned 2008-12-23
Resigned
COURTS, Michael→
director · ~32y · appointed 2022-07-28 · resigned 2022-08-05
Resigned
FOSTER, David Leslie→
director · ~65y · appointed 2008-12-23 · resigned 2022-07-31
Resigned
GIBBONS, Steven→
director · ~34y · appointed 2022-08-05 · resigned 2025-02-27
Resigned
VALAITIS, Peter Anthony→
director · ~76y · appointed 2008-09-11 · resigned 2008-12-23
Resigned
ZHANG, Xiu Fang→
director · ~61y · appointed 2015-12-03 · resigned 2022-07-31
Resigned
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-01-25 · resigned 2008-12-23
Resigned

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

Recent filings (68 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-31
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-02-27
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-05
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-05