ASHTON PLANT CENTRE LTD
🏛️Establishedactive
10530811 · ltd · incorporated 2016-12-17
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£101.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46220
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Deleverage or restructure. Leverage at 100% of assets — consider sale of non-core assets or equity injection. 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
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
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 £101,052
High leverage
Liabilities are 100% of total assets
Net assets shrinking
Down £13,173 YoY
Leverage
100%
Liabilities / Total assets
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£101k
↓ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£175k
↓ 6.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £175.9k | £189.0k |
| Current assets | £174.8k | £187.6k |
| Net assets | £101.1k | £114.2k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 2 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-07-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-08-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-08-08📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-08-08📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-08-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-06-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-21📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-01-10➖ASHTON, John resigneddirector
- 2022-10-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-09-29➕ASHTON, Brenda appointeddirector
- 2022-09-29➕ASHTON, Colin appointeddirector
- 2021-09-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-17🏢Company incorporatedAs ASHTON PLANT CENTRE LTD
- 2016-12-17➕ASHTON, John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
96/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ASHTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
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.
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 Colin Ashton Individual · British · DOB 07/1957 · age 69 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 09/01/2024 |
Miss Brenda Ashton Individual · British · DOB 04/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 09/01/2024 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr John Ashtonceased 09/01/2024· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A NEWTON PLANT LTD→ 11338421 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A Y A BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD→ 15567571 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AL-REHMAN FABRICS UK LTD→ 15457951 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ASHLEY HOUSE FURNITURE LTD→ 15355550 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ATLANTIC INDUSTRIALS LIMITED→ 03531421 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| AUTHENTICSTOCK LIMITED→ 06679979 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AZINA LIMITED→ 04363924 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| AZORO LIMITED→ 16088411 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| B 4 A ENTERPRISE LTD→ 11025791 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| B&G FLEX LTD→ 14498957 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BACCHUS-UK LTD→ 15784610 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BADGER OFFICE SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 05802836 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2016-12-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46220 — SIC 46220
Registered office
The Nurseries
Longmeanygate
Leyland
Lancashire
PR26 7TB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-28
Last: 2025-08-14
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
ASHTON, Brenda→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2022-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHTON, Colin→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2022-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHTON, John→
Resigneddirector · ~95y · appointed 2016-12-17 · resigned 2023-01-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-08-08
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-08-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-08-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-02-21