1ST DEFENCE FABRICATIONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
06493738 · ltd · incorporated 2008-02-05
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£121.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
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
49 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £120,956

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£121k
↑ 20% YoY
Current Assets
£323k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£65k£129k£194k£259k£323kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-02-282024-02-29
Total assets£127.8k£122.0k
Current assets£323.3k£281.9k
Net assets£121.0k£100.4k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-15
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  7. 2021-06-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2020-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-03-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-02-18
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2008-02-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST DEFENCE FABRICATIONS LIMITED
  17. 2008-02-05
    ➕
    GREENLAW, Carl Andrew appointed
    secretary
  18. 2008-02-05
    ➕
    GREENLAW, Carl Andrew appointed
    director
  19. 2008-02-05
    ➕
    SHAW, David Victor Thomas appointed
    director
  20. 2008-02-05
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2008-02-05
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2008-02-05
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2008-02-05
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Carl Andrew Greenlaw
Individual · British · DOB 04/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mr David Victor Thomas Shaw
Individual · British · DOB 02/1971 · age 55
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

6 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
Incorporated2008-02-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25110 — Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures

Registered office

34 Middle Street South
Driffield
North Humberside
YO25 6PS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-19
Last: 2026-02-05

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

GREENLAW, Carl Andrew→
secretary · appointed 2008-02-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GREENLAW, Carl Andrew→
director · ~60y · appointed 2008-02-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHAW, David Victor Thomas→
director · ~55y · appointed 2008-02-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2008-02-05 · resigned 2008-02-05
Resigned
LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2008-02-05 · resigned 2008-02-05
Resigned

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

Recent filings (49 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-06-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-13