ARTHUR BLACK (GENERAL SMITHS) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
09317915 · ltd · incorporated 2014-11-19
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 Nov 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
27 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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 | 2025-11-30 | 2024-11-30 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-10-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-10-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2014-11-19🏢Company incorporatedAs ARTHUR BLACK (GENERAL SMITHS) LIMITED
- 2014-11-19➕BROOKS, Adrian John appointeddirector
- 2014-11-19➕BROOKS, Stephen Clive appointeddirector
Owner dependency
79/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
51/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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 Adrian John Brooks Individual · British · DOB 10/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Stephen Clive Brooks Individual · British · DOB 06/1966 · age 60 | 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 · Other · LE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIME CAFE LTD→ 15995922 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AIO VISION LTD→ 09398111 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ALED RHYS CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 11861250 · est 2019 | — | — | £0 | — | 7y | — | — |
| AMP FIRE LTD→ 10722068 · est 2017 | — | — | £-36.4k | — | 9y | — | — |
| ARROWMERE LIMITED→ 01610788 · est 1982 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 44y | — | — |
| ARUNALU LTD→ 09205429 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ASD ADVISORY LTD→ 16780086 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ASHBY BID COMPANY LTD→ 13622944 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ASHLANDS AND BRIERLEY VIEW MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 15668980 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ASIO ECOLOGY LLP→ OC445989 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ASPECTS ENGINEERING LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP→ OC344626 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ASPHALT PLANT SALES LIMITED→ 05166168 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2014-11-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
11 Merus Court
Meridian Business Park
Leicester
LE19 1RJ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-08-31
Last made up to: 2025-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-03
Last: 2025-11-19
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
BROOKS, Adrian John→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2014-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BROOKS, Stephen Clive→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2014-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (27 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-16