1ST CASTLE SCHOOL OF MOTORING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
07953311 · ltd · incorporated 2012-02-16
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Driving school activities
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. 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, 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
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
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
82
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 | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £15.4k |
| Current assets | — | £28.8k |
| Net assets | — | £15.4k |
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
2
filings
- • 1 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2026-02-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-11-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-12➕MORLEY, Michael appointeddirector
- 2019-04-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2018-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-10📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2012-02-16🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST CASTLE SCHOOL OF MOTORING LIMITED
- 2012-02-16➕MORLEY, Stephen John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
86/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
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 72 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 14 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Stephen John Morley Individual · British · DOB 05/1954 · age 72 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| 4-SITE TRAINING ACADEMY LTD→ 16524686 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| 747 MUSIC LIMITED→ 07139879 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
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| A18 COMPANY LIMITED→ 12537189 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABC DRIVER TRAINING LIMITED→ 04707387 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ABDK LIMITED→ 04100780 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2012-02-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85530 — Driving school activities
Registered office
43 St. Peters Close
Bognor Regis
PO21 5QA
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last: 2026-02-14
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
MORLEY, Michael→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2019-04-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MORLEY, Stephen John→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2012-02-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-17