ASCENT VENTURES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
08834199 · ltd · incorporated 2014-01-07
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 11.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of venture and development capital companies
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 11.4y

70/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 11.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (61/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
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
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
32 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-26
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  5. 2023-09-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  6. 2023-05-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-22
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  8. 2022-09-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Greater Manchester Combined Authority
  9. 2022-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-02-08
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  11. 2020-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2018-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-01-17
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  16. 2017-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2015-02-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  19. 2014-01-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASCENT VENTURES LIMITED
  20. 2014-01-07
    ➕
    CRITCHLOW, Anthony Stephen appointed
    director
  21. 2014-01-07
    ➕
    CRITCHLOW, Helen Claire appointed
    director

Owner dependency

86/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 66 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Anthony Stephen Critchlow
Individual · British · DOB 09/1960 · age 66
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2014-01-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64303 — Activities of venture and development capital companies

Registered office

Evergreen House The Edge
Clowes Street
Manchester
M3 5NA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-14
Last: 2025-07-31

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

CRITCHLOW, Anthony Stephen→
director · ~66y · appointed 2014-01-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CRITCHLOW, Helen Claire→
director · ~60y · appointed 2014-01-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property14/09/2023—
outstanding
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
A registered charge—21/09/2022—
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge—25/02/2015—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (32 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-08
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-02
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-15
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2021-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-03