DAVID PATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
07115345 · ltd · incorporated 2010-01-04
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
£26.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of insurance agents and brokers
Sector: Financial & insurance
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 66290Other activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 85-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 85). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 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
4 officers (4 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
47 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 · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £26,317
Net assets shrinking
Down £13,059 YoY
Cash YoY
-27%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£36k
↓ 27% YoY
Net Worth
£26k
↓ 33% YoY
Current Assets
£36k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£10k£20k£30k£39k£49kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£26.3k£39.4k
Current assets£36.1k£49.2k
Cash£36.1k£49.2k
Net assets£26.3k£39.4k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-04-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  5. 2023-04-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2023-04-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2023-04-01
    ➕
    PATES, Christabel appointed
    director
  8. 2022-06-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2022-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-06-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-01-06
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2020-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-01-04
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  14. 2020-01-04
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  15. 2019-06-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-04-06
    ➕
    PATES, Briony Patricia appointed
    secretary
  17. 2019-01-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2019-01-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  19. 2018-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2010-06-01
    ➕
    PATES, Simon Alan appointed
    director
  21. 2010-01-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DAVID PATES LIMITED
  22. 2010-01-04
    ➕
    PATES, David Francis 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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "PATES" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 85 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

83/100
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 85 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Francis Pates
Individual · British · DOB 08/1941 · age 85
75–100%
—75-100% shares04/01/2017
Mr Simon Alan Pates
Individual · British · DOB 09/1969 · age 57
——sig. influencesignificant influence01/01/2021

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
Incorporated2010-01-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC66220 — Activities of insurance agents and brokers

Registered office

27 High Street
Stoke-Sub-Hamdon
TA14 6PR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-17
Last: 2026-01-03

Officers (4 active · 0 resigned)

PATES, Briony Patricia→
secretary · appointed 2019-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PATES, Christabel→
director · ~58y · appointed 2023-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PATES, David Francis→
director · ~85y · appointed 2010-01-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PATES, Simon Alan→
director · ~57y · appointed 2010-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (47 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-07
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-04-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-04-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-04-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-08