AO WORLD PLC

🌳Matureactive

05525751 · plc · incorporated 2005-08-02

Investment thesis

Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.

Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.

Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Activities of head offices

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

74990Non-trading company

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 18.5y

35/100

too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

· Oldest live charge is 18.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 30/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: low (53/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)

Directors & officers

25 officers (9 active, 25 linked, 20 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)

Director network

18 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

247 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

• 2 capital

Last 90 days

filings

• 16 capital

Last 180 days

filings

• 25 capital

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (79 events)Click to expand

2026-05-18
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capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-05-18
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capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-04-17
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capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-04-17
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capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-04-17
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-04-17
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-04-17
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capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-03-23
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-03-23
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-03-23
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-03-23
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-03-23
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-03-23
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-03-23
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-03-23
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-03-23
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-02-28
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capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-02-28
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-02-28
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-02-28
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-02-28
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-02-28
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-02-28
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-01-26
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capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-01-26
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capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2025-09-01
➕
TOMKINS, Sophie Alice appointed
director
2024-11-19
🔓
Charge satisfied #6
2023-09-27
➖
CASSONI, Maria Luisa resigned
director
2023-05-10
🔓
Charge satisfied #5
2023-05-10
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2023-04-05
🔒
Charge registered #6
Lender: Hsbc Corporate Trustee Company (UK) Limited as Security Trustee for the Secured Parties
2023-03-30
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2022-11-01
➕
VENNING, Sarah Louise appointed
director
2022-10-01
➕
PRITCHARD, Peter Paul appointed
director
2022-01-31
➖
DEPLAZES DE ANDRADE DELGADO, Luisa resigned
director
2020-04-06
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Hsbc Corporate Trustee Company (UK) Limited as Security Trustee for the Secured Parties (Security Agent)
2020-04-06
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Hsbc Corporate Trustee Company (UK) Limited as Security Trustee for the Secured Parties (Security Agent)
2019-09-24
➖
DE ROJAS, Jacqueline resigned
director
2019-07-17
➖
MCBRIDE, Brian James resigned
director
2019-01-31
➖
CAUNCE, Stephen James resigned
director
2019-01-01
➕
DEPLAZES DE ANDRADE DELGADO, Luisa appointed
director
2018-07-24
➕
MCCABE, Shaun appointed
director
2017-11-23
➕
DE ROJAS, Jacqueline appointed
director
2017-02-16
➖
LAMPRECHT, Rudolf Josef resigned
director
2016-07-21
➖
ROSE, Richard Sidney resigned
director
2016-07-01
➕
COOPER, Geoffrey Ian appointed
director
2016-06-13
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2016-05-27
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
2015-08-01
➕
HIGGINS, Jonathan Mark Stephen appointed
director
2015-07-21
➖
HOLROYD, William resigned
director

Showing most recent 50 of 79 events

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-8 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+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.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong 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.
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.

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Similar companies

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Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A D HUMPHREY SERVICES LTD→ 14410717 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
A E 2 LIMITED→ 14143761 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ABOTT STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING LTD→ 12150082 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ACCELERATE CONSULTING (UK) LIMITED→ 08927939 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
ACCOUNTANCY MATTERS LIMITED→ 04150449 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
ACCUPART CNC LIMITED→ 11724907 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ACCURA RESOURCING LIMITED→ 12330565 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ACED ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 16230092 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACORN CARE & EDUCATION (OPS) LTD→ 06924424 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ACORN CARE AND EDUCATION LIMITED→ 05019430 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
ACTFASTRESOURCES LIMITED→ 15332926 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ADALTA DEVELOPMENT LTD→ 04752100 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeplc

Incorporated2005-08-02

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC70100 — Activities of head offices

Registered office

Unit 5a The Parklands

Lostock

Bolton

BL6 4SD

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-14

Last: 2025-07-31