AA THORNTON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
05415161 · ltd · incorporated 2005-04-06
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 20.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47770
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 20.6y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 20.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
62 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 7 | 700 |
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
6
filings
- • 4 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 address
Last 180 days
7
filings
- • 4 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-02📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2026-03-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2026-02-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-19📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2021-07-19📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2021-07-19📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2021-07-19📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2020-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-02📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-07-01➕RANDALL, Richard James appointeddirector
- 2019-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2005-10-05🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2005-04-06🏢Company incorporatedAs AA THORNTON LIMITED
- 2005-04-06➕RANDALL, Jonathan Mark appointedsecretary
- 2005-04-06➕RANDALL, Jonathan Mark appointeddirector
- 2005-04-06➕RANDALL, Sally Jane appointeddirector
- 2005-04-06➕TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-04-06➖TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-04-06➕COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-04-06➖COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
90/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Jonathan Mark Randall Individual · British · DOB 12/1954 · age 72 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Sally Jane Randall Individual · British · DOB 12/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · NN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 RED DOOR LANE LTD.→ 11105505 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 1ST4RENT LIMITED→ 05722881 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| 24K COLLECTIVE LTD→ 16826884 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2CHX LTD→ 15872050 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4 KANDLES HARDWARE PAPER SHOP LTD→ 14843325 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 50 CHARLES LIMITED→ 14507397 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 7 DAYS CORBY LTD→ 16574783 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 80 DRINKS LTD→ 16499118 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AA & NN LTD→ 16862911 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AA IMPORT AND EXPORT LTD→ 14475428 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AA.NAVIRA LTD→ 16258793 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AAA INNOVATIONS LIMITED→ 15791797 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-04-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47770 — SIC 47770
Registered office
C/O Azets Orion House (Ground Floor)
Orion Way
Kettering
Northamptonshire
NN15 6PE
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-20
Last: 2026-04-06
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
RANDALL, Jonathan Mark→
Activesecretary · appointed 2005-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RANDALL, Jonathan Mark→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2005-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RANDALL, Richard James→
Activedirector · ~32y · appointed 2020-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RANDALL, Sally Jane→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2005-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-04-06 · resigned 2005-04-06
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-04-06 · resigned 2005-04-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 05/10/2005 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (62 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-07
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-02
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2026-03-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-23