A E DOWSE & SON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
05823903 · ltd · incorporated 2006-05-22
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Why now
Window opening · high confidence
More negotiable than before — 3 signals weakening over the last 30 days.
- · Hygiene score: 90 → 70
- · Opportunity score: 82 → 73
- · Bankability: 80 → 70
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 19.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
What changed my view
Last 30 days
Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 3 negative signals vs 0 positive.
- ↓Opportunity score: 82 → 73
- ↓Hygiene score: 90 → 70
- ↓Bankability: 80 → 70
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£-1.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 19.9y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 19.9 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 (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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
54 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £1,740
Net assets shrinking
Down £2,300 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£2k
↓ 411% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-1.7k | £560 |
| Current assets | £2.9k | £3.9k |
| Debtors | £1.9k | £2.3k |
| Net assets | £-1.7k | £560 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-30📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-07-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-31📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2006-09-01🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Co-Operative Bank PLC
- 2006-05-22🏢Company incorporatedAs A E DOWSE & SON LIMITED
- 2006-05-22➕DOWSE, Honor appointedsecretary
- 2006-05-22➕DOWSE, Honor appointeddirector
- 2006-05-22➕DOWSE, Michael appointeddirector
- 2006-05-22➕ONLINE CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2006-05-22➖ONLINE CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2006-05-22➕ONLINE NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2006-05-22➖ONLINE NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +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 "DOWSE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 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
91/100
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.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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.
Red flags
1 high ·Confirmation statement overdue
highAnnual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.
Evidence: Next due: 2026-06-05
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Dowse Individual · British · DOB 06/1955 · age 71 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Honor Dowse Individual · British · DOB 10/1954 · age 72 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · YO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C H UPHOLSTERY LIMITED→ 06450910 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| CARADOC GROUP LIMITED→ 10933309 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CARELINE SECURITY LIMITED→ 07443823 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CARLANTH FISHING COMPANY LIMITED→ 10528788 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CASSELDEN & WALSH FUNERAL DIRECTORS LIMITED→ 14154617 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CASTLE COMPUTING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16318126 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CASTLE SPA SHEENA LTD→ 14103230 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CASTLEGATE BLUE LTD→ 04101930 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| CAUSE MATCHER LIMITED→ 16363443 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CAWOOD LEISURE LIMITED→ 08623676 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CEDARWOOD & SON LTD→ 14839559 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CEDARWOOD CLEANING LTD→ 10917364 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2006-05-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
2 Hallgarth
Pickering
YO18 7AW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-05OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-22
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
Active
DOWSE, Honor→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2006-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOWSE, Michael→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2006-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ONLINE CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2006-05-22 · resigned 2006-05-22
ONLINE NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-05-22 · resigned 2006-05-22
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 | Co-operative Bank The Co-Operative Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 01/09/2006 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (54 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-24