ARCHITECTURE FIRST LTD
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Corporate timeline (9 events)Click to expand
- 2024-11-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-30🏢Company incorporatedAs ARCHITECTURE FIRST LTD
- 2019-10-30➕FAULKNER, Michael Robert appointedsecretary
- 2019-10-30➕FAULKNER, Michael Robert appointeddirector
- 2019-10-30📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 7 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Robert Faulkner Individual · British · DOB 11/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 30/10/2019 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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 →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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Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
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