1ST CLASS LINEN SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07782591 · ltd · incorporated 2011-09-21
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
£2.34M
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
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, 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 (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
33 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £2,338,300
Cash YoY
+13%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1.7m
↑ 13% YoY
Net Worth
£2.3m
↑ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£2.0m
↑ 14% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £2.34M | £2.02M |
| Current assets | £1.99M | £1.75M |
| Cash | £1.74M | £1.55M |
| Debtors | £164.9k | £145.4k |
| Net assets | £2.34M | £2.02M |
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
- 2025-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-21📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-22📄accounts-amended-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AAMD
- 2014-09-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2011-09-21🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST CLASS LINEN SERVICES LIMITED
- 2011-09-21➕BARBER, Brett Christian appointeddirector
- 2011-09-21➕SHAH, Ela appointeddirector
- 2011-09-21➖SHAH, Ela resigneddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Brett Christian Barber Individual · British · DOB 01/1972 · age 54 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · SS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11TH DIMENSION LTD→ 11374619 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 1961 CONSULTING LIMITED→ 14198937 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 1ADMIN1 LTD→ 09785555 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 1ST CHOICE DRAINAGE LIMITED→ 09454706 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| 1STCURVE LTD→ 12215117 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 2 RONALD HILL GROVE (FREEHOLD) LIMITED→ 07319813 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| 22 BARBERS LIMITED→ 15770619 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 24/7 SALES LTD→ 15619105 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 28 UNDERCLIFF GARDENS MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 05640511 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| 2K9 PET SERVICES LIMITED→ 13800928 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 3 DDD SERVICES LIMITED→ 15323429 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 319 INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 16418155 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-09-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
10 White Road
Charfleets Industrial Estate
Canvey Island
SS8 0PQ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-05
Last: 2025-09-21
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
BARBER, Brett Christian→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2011-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SHAH, Ela→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · appointed 2011-09-21 · resigned 2011-09-21
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-10-06