COLE & SAUNDERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
05387271 · ltd · incorporated 2005-03-10
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£16.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-life insurance
Sector: Financial & insurance
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 (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £16,479

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£16k
↑ 129% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↑ 87% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£11k£17k£23k£28kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£16.5k£7.2k
Current assets£28.2k£15.1k
Net assets£16.5k£7.2k

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
3
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 change-of-name
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-01-13
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  3. 2024-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-06-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-06-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-06-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-03-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2016-02-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2015-06-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-03-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2009-04-02
    ➕
    COLE, Dale Michael appointed
    secretary
  17. 2009-04-02
    ➕
    SAUNDERS, Mark Wayne appointed
    director
  18. 2009-04-02
    ➖
    LEWIS, Hazel Mary resigned
    secretary
  19. 2009-04-02
    ➖
    LEWIS, Frazer Charles resigned
    director
  20. 2005-03-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As COLE & SAUNDERS LIMITED
  21. 2005-03-10
    ➕
    COLE, Dale Michael appointed
    director
  22. 2005-03-10
    ➕
    LEWIS, Hazel Mary appointed
    secretary
  23. 2005-03-10
    ➕
    LEWIS, Frazer Charles appointed
    director

Owner dependency

98/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "COLE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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 ·
Name changed recently
medium

Name changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.

Evidence: 2026-01-13: certificate-change-of-name-company

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Wayne Saunders
Individual · British · DOB 08/1961 · age 65
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Dale Michael Cole
Individual · British · DOB 10/1971 · age 55
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2005-03-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC65120 — Non-life insurance

Registered office

96 King Street
Dudley
West Midlands
DY2 8PR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-24
Last: 2026-03-10

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

COLE, Dale Michael→
secretary · appointed 2009-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COLE, Dale Michael→
director · ~55y · appointed 2005-03-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SAUNDERS, Mark Wayne→
director · ~65y · appointed 2009-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LEWIS, Hazel Mary→
secretary · appointed 2005-03-10 · resigned 2009-04-02
Resigned
LEWIS, Frazer Charles→
director · ~59y · appointed 2005-03-10 · resigned 2009-04-02
Resigned

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

Recent filings (61 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-14
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2026-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-12