ALAN COWARD & SON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
07180004 · ltd · incorporated 2010-03-05
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 4.8y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 4.8y
75/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Charge age ~4.8 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
4 officers (4 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
57 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 700 | 800 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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
1
filing
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-01-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-01-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-01-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-01-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-01📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-12-01📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-11-27📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2025-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-15📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-01-15📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-01-15📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2025-01-15📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2024-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-09-12🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2022-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-23📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2021-09-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2021-09-08📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2015-07-01➕COWARD, Alison Georgia appointeddirector
- 2011-04-01➕COWARD, Michael Alan appointeddirector
- 2010-03-05🏢Company incorporatedAs ALAN COWARD & SON LIMITED
- 2010-03-05➕COWARD, Alan Geoffrey appointeddirector
- 2010-03-05➕COWARD, Lynda Jill appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "COWARD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — 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 candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Alan Coward Individual · British · DOB 06/1983 · age 43 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 10/01/2020 |
Mr Alan Geoffrey Coward Individual · British · DOB 10/1953 · age 73 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Lynda Jill Coward Individual · British · DOB 02/1956 · age 70 | 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.
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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
Incorporated2010-03-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
305 Dean Road
Avonmouth
Bristol
BS11 8AT
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-06
Last: 2026-01-23
Officers (4 active · 0 resigned)
COWARD, Alan Geoffrey→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2010-03-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COWARD, Alison Georgia→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2015-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COWARD, Lynda Jill→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2010-03-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COWARD, Michael Alan→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2011-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 23/09/2021 | 12/09/2023 |
Recent filings (57 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-27
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-12-01
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-12-01
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2025-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-04
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-01-15
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-01-15
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2025-01-15