1ST CHOICE ESCALATORS LTD
💤Zombieactive
13115994 · ltd · incorporated 2021-01-06
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£130.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33190
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 71/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
21 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £130,332
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,518 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£130k
↓ 1.2% YoY
Current Assets
£200k
↑ 10% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £146.5k | £131.8k |
| Current assets | £200.2k | £181.3k |
| Net assets | £130.3k | £131.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-22📄withdrawal-of-the-secretaries-register-information-from-the-public-registerofficers · EW03
- 2025-01-22📄withdrawal-of-the-directors-register-information-from-the-public-registerofficers · EW01
- 2025-01-22📄withdrawal-of-the-persons-with-significant-control-register-information-from-the-public-registerpersons-with-significant-control · EW04
- 2025-01-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-07-14📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-07-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-21📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2021-05-21📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2021-04-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-01-06🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST CHOICE ESCALATORS LTD
- 2021-01-06➕MITCHELL, Kate appointedsecretary
- 2021-01-06➕MITCHELL, Darron Peter appointeddirector
- 2021-01-06📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
80/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
45/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 Darron Peter Mitchell Individual · British · DOB 12/1977 · age 49 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/01/2021 |
Kate Mitchell Individual · British · DOB 10/1978 · age 48 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/01/2021 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · KT postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST IMPRESSIONS SIGNS LTD→ 07091642 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| 2ND CHANCE ITEMS LTD→ 12078343 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 57 DEGREES LIGHT LTD→ 10670770 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A K L PLANT SERVICES LIMITED→ 05366542 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| A.1. ROPES & RIGGING LIMITED→ 02486685 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| ABC FASHION HOUSE LIMITED→ 15957209 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAPTED TRENDS LTD→ 15449513 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADDLESTONE TYRE CENTRE LTD→ 16248370 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADDLESTONE TYRES LTD→ 15055195 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADG DL LIMITED→ 16661001 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADHDAF LTD→ 16977644 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADVANCED UK INTERNATIONAL LTD→ 14647667 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2021-01-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33190 — SIC 33190
Registered office
Albany House
Claremont Lane
Esher
Surrey
KT10 9FQ
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-19
Last: 2026-01-05
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
MITCHELL, Darron Peter→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2021-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (21 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-22
withdrawal-of-the-secretaries-register-information-from-the-public-register
officers · EW03
2025-01-22
withdrawal-of-the-directors-register-information-from-the-public-register
officers · EW01
2025-01-22
withdrawal-of-the-persons-with-significant-control-register-information-from-the-public-register
persons-with-significant-control · EW04
2025-01-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-07-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-19