221B GROUP LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
09983471 · ltd · incorporated 2016-02-02
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 2026
Net worth
£17.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Security systems service activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 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
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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £17,712
Net assets shrinking
Down £12,966 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£18k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Assets
£95k
↑ 62% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£19k£38k£57k£76k£95kFeb 2025Feb 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2026-02-282025-02-28
Total assets£104.5k£30.7k
Current assets£95.2k£58.9k
Net assets£17.7k£30.7k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-07-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-10-19
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  8. 2022-10-19
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2022-09-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2022-09-10
    ➖
    DE'CORT, Sidney William, Mr. resigned
    director
  11. 2021-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-07-12
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  16. 2018-02-03
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  17. 2018-02-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-01-28
    ➕
    NEVIN, Mark Andrew appointed
    director
  19. 2018-01-28
    ➕
    THORNE, Mark appointed
    director
  20. 2016-02-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 221B GROUP LIMITED
  21. 2016-02-02
    ➕
    DE'CORT, Sidney William, Mr. appointed
    director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material 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 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

56/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Thorne
Individual · British · DOB 11/1970 · age 56
50–75%
—50-75% shares10/09/2022
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Sidney William De'Cortceased 10/09/2022· 75-100% shares

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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 →
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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2016-02-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC80200 — Security systems service activities

Registered office

90a Broomfield Road Broomfield Road
Chelmsford
CM1 1SS
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-11-30
Last made up to: 2026-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-15
Last: 2026-02-01

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

NEVIN, Mark Andrew→
director · ~65y · appointed 2018-01-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THORNE, Mark→
director · ~56y · appointed 2018-01-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DE'CORT, Sidney William, Mr.→
director · ~85y · appointed 2016-02-02 · resigned 2022-09-10
Resigned

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

Recent filings (31 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-17
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-10-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-10-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-09-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-19