5 A SIDE CHESS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
09670107 · ltd · incorporated 2015-07-03
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 2024
Net worth
£1.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Cultural education
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (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: high (84/100)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
17 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
23 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,131
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,343 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£1k
↓ 54% YoY
Current Assets
£6k
↓ 48% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-29 | 2023-11-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.1k | £2.5k |
| Current assets | £5.5k | £10.6k |
| Net assets | £1.1k | £2.5k |
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 (16 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-28📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-06-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-03🏢Company incorporatedAs 5 A SIDE CHESS LIMITED
- 2015-07-03➕MCKAY, Ian Alexander appointeddirector
- 2015-07-03➕SMITH, Ross Barry appointeddirector
- 2015-07-03📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
78/100
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 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
71/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
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.
- 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 Ross Barry Smith Individual · British · DOB 07/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 03/07/2017 |
Mr Ian Alexander Mckay Individual · British · DOB 12/1954 · age 72 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 02/07/2016 |
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 · Education & training · CB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1GO MOTORCYCLES LIMITED→ 15749021 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 1GO SCOOTERS LIMITED→ 15755412 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4D DANCE CIC→ 15931628 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 7TH RISE LTD→ 08797469 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| A.C.E. NURSERY SCHOOL (CAMBRIDGE) LIMITED→ 01170191 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 51y | — | — |
| A1 FUN CLUB LIMITED→ 06485107 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A2Z EDUCATION CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16999540 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AAA MOTORCYCLE TRAINING LTD→ 11875485 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AAFAQ UK LTD→ 11694021 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AB-UK LIMITED→ 15239641 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABACUS DAY NURSERY LTD→ 06651205 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ABBEY DLD COLLEGES LIMITED→ 13933719 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-07-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85520 — Cultural education
Registered office
1 Longstanton Road, Oakington, Cambridge Longstanton Road
Oakington
Cambridge
CB24 3BB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-29
Last made up to: 2024-11-29
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-17
Last: 2025-07-03
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
MCKAY, Ian Alexander→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2015-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Ross Barry→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2015-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (23 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-14
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2021-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-12