1DIRECTION CIVIL ENGINEERING LTD.
🌳Matureactive
08588771 · ltd · incorporated 2013-06-28
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
£33.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -30% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 6.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 6.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
45 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £33,049
Net assets shrinking
Down £17,493 YoY
Cash YoY
-30%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£56k
↓ 30% YoY
Net Worth
£33k
↓ 35% YoY
Current Assets
£169k
↓ 31% 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 | £38.3k | £69.1k |
| Current assets | £168.7k | £245.6k |
| Cash | £56.5k | £81.1k |
| Debtors | £112.3k | £164.6k |
| Net assets | £33.0k | £50.5k |
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
4
filings
- • 1 incorporation
- • 1 resolution
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 1 incorporation
- • 1 resolution
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-29📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2026-04-29📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2026-04-08📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2025-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-14📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-01-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-01📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-04-28🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Security Trustee Limited
- 2019-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-13📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2014-06-28➕WILLIAMS, Robert Michael appointeddirector
- 2013-06-28🏢Company incorporatedAs 1DIRECTION CIVIL ENGINEERING LTD.
- 2013-06-28➕WILLIAMS, Robert Michael appointedsecretary
- 2013-06-28➕CUMBERS, Maxie appointeddirector
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
69/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Luis Cumbers Individual · British · DOB 09/1988 · age 38 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Maxie Cumbers Individual · British · DOB 01/1957 · age 69 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Robert Michael Williams Individual · British · DOB 11/1978 · age 48 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Paul Coadyceased 13/04/2018· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A C G CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 10566933 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ABG ARCHITECTURE LTD→ 07541615 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AC&MS LIMITED→ 04664684 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ACADEMY OF LEARNING LTD→ 15755737 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANCY CLUB LIMITED→ 13916844 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LIMITED→ 02060525 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTAX ASSOCIATES LTD→ 07600257 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTING COMPANY FORPOST LTD→ 16236939 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTS ON SEA LIMITED→ 10724444 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACD (LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS) LIMITED→ 02079974 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| ACE CARD MARKETING LIMITED→ 16997064 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2013-06-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
4 Capricorn Centre
Cranes Farm Road
Basildon
Essex
SS14 3JJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-22
Last: 2026-04-08
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
WILLIAMS, Robert Michael→
Activesecretary · appointed 2013-06-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CUMBERS, Maxie→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-06-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WILLIAMS, Robert Michael→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2014-06-28
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
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Security Trustee Limited | A registered charge | — | 28/04/2020 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (45 total)
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2026-04-29
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2026-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-09
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-01-14