1ST GEAR DRIVING ACADEMY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

05727789 · ltd · incorporated 2006-03-02

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 Feb 2026

Net worth

£7.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

75/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Driving school activities

Sector: Education

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -45% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

54 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

75/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £7,870

Net assets shrinking

Down £1,728 YoY

Cash draining

Cash down 45% YoY

Cash YoY

-45%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£5k

↓ 45% YoY

Net Worth

£8k

↓ 18% YoY

Current Assets

£5k

↓ 45% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2026-02-28	2025-02-28
Total assets	£13.7k	£12.2k
Current assets	£5.0k	£9.1k
Cash	£5.0k	£9.1k
Net assets	£7.9k	£9.6k

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-05-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-09-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-07-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-10-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-09-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-03-17
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2006-03-03
➕
MARSHALL, Dennis appointed
secretary
2006-03-03
➕
STONE, Steven Lee appointed
director
2006-03-02
🏢
Company incorporated
As 1ST GEAR DRIVING ACADEMY LIMITED
2006-03-02
➕
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2006-03-02
➖
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2006-03-02
➕
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2006-03-02
➖
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100

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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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

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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Steven Lee Stone Individual · British · DOB 11/1976 · age 50	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Education & training · DN postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
AC EDUCATION SERVICES LTD→ 14922128 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ACADEMY FOR BOARD TRAINING LTD→ 13156456 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ACCELER8 GROUP LIMITED→ 14433528 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ACCELERATING DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 04988676 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
ACT FAST (NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE) CIC→ 06344220 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
ACT FAST NL LIMITED→ 10471156 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ACTIVE COMMUNITIES CIC→ 15119962 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AD ASTRA TUTORING LTD→ 16998692 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ADVENTURING ANGELS LTD→ 13817087 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
AGAINST THE GRAIN EDUCATION LIMITED→ 16559161 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AIDOLOGY TRAINING COMPANY LIMITED→ 16171300 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AINSWORTH-HIDES LIMITED→ 07918728 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—

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

Incorporated2006-03-02

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC85530 — Driving school activities

Registered office

Manorside

Harwell

Doncaster

South Yorkshire

DN10 5BU

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-11-30

Last made up to: 2026-02-28

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-16

Last: 2026-03-02

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MARSHALL, Dennis→

secretary · appointed 2006-03-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

STONE, Steven Lee→

director · ~50y · appointed 2006-03-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-03-02 · resigned 2006-03-02

Resigned

BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-03-02 · resigned 2006-03-02

Resigned

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