'A1' ARBORISTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06449984 · ltd · incorporated 2007-12-11
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£162.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02100
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £162,761

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£163k
↑ 1751% YoY
Current Assets
£219k
↓ 3.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£46k£91k£137k£183k£228kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£162.8k£8.8k
Current assets£219.4k£228.4k
Net assets£162.8k£8.8k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2023-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-12-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2022-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2022-09-20
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2022-09-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2021-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2007-12-11
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 'A1' ARBORISTS LIMITED
  17. 2007-12-11
    LAIDLAW, Brian appointed
    secretary
  18. 2007-12-11
    ROBB, William Hugh appointed
    director

Owner dependency

98/100
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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 19 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr William Hugh Robb
Individual · British · DOB 12/1966 · age 60
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control11/12/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2007-12-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC02100 — SIC 02100

Registered office

3 Fisher Street
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA3 8RR
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-13
Last: 2025-11-29

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

LAIDLAW, Brian
secretary · appointed 2007-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ROBB, William Hugh
director · ~60y · appointed 2007-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (44 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-02-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-22
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-09-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-29