1ST LAB LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07410275 · ltd · incorporated 2010-10-18
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 99999SIC 99999
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). 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 (78/100)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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 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
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-09-29 | 2023-09-29 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-03📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-12-03📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2013-04-02➕CORTESE, Michele appointeddirector
- 2013-04-02➖CACCIAPUOTI, Luigi resigneddirector
- 2010-10-18🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST LAB LIMITED
- 2010-10-18➕CACCIAPUOTI, Luigi appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Anna Maria Chiocca Individual · Italian · DOB 12/1955 · age 71 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 03/12/2020 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Michele Corteseceased 17/02/2020· significant influence
- Michele Corteseceased 03/12/2020· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · B postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01GREASEMASTER LIMITED→ 14664735 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 1 LAW SOLICITORS LTD→ 13611427 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 1 PERCENT HUB LTD→ 16727655 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1313 RECRUITMENT LTD→ 17001278 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 STARS HIRE LTD→ 15938188 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 1KC CHAMBERS LLP→ OC433425 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 1ST CHOICE CONSULTANCY LTD→ 12570140 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 1ST CHOICE LEISURE LTD→ 07989376 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| 1STPAYSGROUP LTD→ 16753548 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1VERITAS LTD→ 17050162 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 DEGREES INFRASTRUCTURE LTD→ 13439297 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 2 PAY PEOPLE LTD→ 11906892 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2010-10-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Registered office
Front Suite, 1st Floor Charles House
148-149 Gt Charles Street
Birmingham
B3 3HT
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-29
Last made up to: 2024-09-29
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-17
Last: 2025-12-03
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
CORTESE, Michele→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CACCIAPUOTI, Luigi→
Resigneddirector · ~47y · appointed 2010-10-18 · resigned 2013-04-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (47 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-03
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-12-03
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2020-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-19