DRAGON EDUCATION SOLUTIONS LTD
🌳Matureactive
07674191 · ltd · incorporated 2011-06-20
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£32.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: First-degree level higher education
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
31 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £32,549
Net assets shrinking
Down £274 YoY
Cash YoY
+28%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£33k
↑ 28% YoY
Net Worth
£33k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£33k
↑ 1.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £32.9k | £33.2k |
| Current assets | £33.1k | £32.5k |
| Cash | £33.0k | £25.7k |
| Debtors | £94 | £6.8k |
| Net assets | £32.5k | £32.8k |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-05-21📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-03-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-06-20🏢Company incorporatedAs DRAGON EDUCATION SOLUTIONS LTD
- 2011-06-20➕GEORGE, Alison, Dr appointeddirector
- 2011-06-20➕ORFORD, David Charles 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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
89/100
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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Charles Orford Individual · British · DOB 05/1952 · age 74 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Dr Alison George Individual · British · DOB 02/1953 · age 73 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Education & training · NP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRITANNIA ZENITH LIMITED→ 05151783 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| CARIBEATZ-MENO LTD→ 16163311 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| COACHING FOOTPRINT LTD→ 12519075 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| COMMERCIAL HOUSE ABERCARN LTD→ 12582721 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CYFEILLION BACH CYFYNGEDIG→ 08216207 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CYNEFIN PAMOJA CIC→ 16208924 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DIALOGUE CONSULTING LTD→ 05030757 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| DIAMOND PROPERTY TRAINING GROUP LIMITED→ 16195426 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DIVERSITY DAY CARE LTD→ 16910302 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DRIVEOLOGY LIMITED→ 04914351 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| DRIVERSE LTD→ 16813849 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DROP IN MED LTD→ 15753113 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-06-20
Jurisdictionwales
Primary SIC85421 — First-degree level higher education
Registered office
25 Pant Yr Heol Close
Henllys
Cwmbran
Torfaen
NP44 6JX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-21
Last: 2025-09-07
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
GEORGE, Alison, Dr→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2011-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ORFORD, David Charles→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2011-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-16
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-19