A SENSE OF WONDER LTD

🌳Matureactive

06218594 · ltd · incorporated 2007-04-18

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Primary education

Sector: Education

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 75). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

51 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

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31

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

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 persons-with-significant-control
• 1 officers

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 persons-with-significant-control
• 1 officers

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 persons-with-significant-control
• 1 officers

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2026-04-28
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-28
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-12-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-04
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-11-04
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-10-29
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-08-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-11-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-09-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2007-04-19
➖
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2007-04-19
➖
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2007-04-18
🏢
Company incorporated
As A SENSE OF WONDER LTD
2007-04-18
➕
MANFORD, Lorraine appointed
secretary
2007-04-18
➕
GILCHRIST, Michael John, Director appointed
director
2007-04-18
➕
MANFORD, Lorraine appointed
director
2007-04-18
➕
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2007-04-18
➕
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

89/100

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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Lorraine Manford Individual · British · DOB 11/1956 · age 70	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	18/04/2017
Director Michael John Gilchrist Individual · British · DOB 12/1951 · age 75	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	18/04/2017

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

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11 PLUS ACADEMY LIMITED→ 16090206 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
1226 GLOBAL LTD→ 15056654 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
1ST WITH EDUCATION LIMITED→ 13940733 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ABILITY USING SPORT C.I.C.→ 12280276 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ABSOLUTE VALUE LIMITED→ 11926875 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL SKILLS LTD→ 15890517 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACORNS PRESCHOOL LIMITED→ 07199367 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ACUREGEN LIMITED→ 07215582 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ADAM.NVQ LIMITED→ 10981984 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ADORE YOUR PELVIC FLOOR LIMITED→ 10502966 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ADS-DRIVING LTD→ 11973350 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ADVANCED HEALTH & SAFETY LTD→ 08313578 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—

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

Incorporated2007-04-18

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC85200 — Primary education

Registered office

8 Reynards Copse, Highwoods

Colchester

Essex

CO4 9UR

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-02

Last: 2026-04-18

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MANFORD, Lorraine→

secretary · appointed 2007-04-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

GILCHRIST, Michael John, Director→

director · ~75y · appointed 2007-04-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MANFORD, Lorraine→

director · ~70y · appointed 2007-04-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-04-18 · resigned 2007-04-19

Resigned

FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-04-18 · resigned 2007-04-19

Resigned

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

Recent filings (51 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-04-29

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC04

2026-04-28

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2026-04-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-12-24

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2025-11-04

change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date

officers · CH03

2025-11-04

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC04

2025-10-29

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-04-22

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged

accounts · AA

2024-08-05

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-04-18

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2023-08-21

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-04-26

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2022-07-21

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-04-21

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2021-09-09