A & C THORNTON LIMITED
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 1.3y
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Newest facility, 1.3 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (70/100)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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsFinancials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-03-31 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £93.1k |
| Current assets | £130.2k |
| Net assets | £93.1k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 2 accounts
Corporate timeline (8 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-12-19📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2025-02-26📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-02-20🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2024-08-09🏢Company incorporatedAs A & C THORNTON LIMITED
- 2024-08-09➕THORNTON, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2024-08-09➕THORNTON, Caroline appointeddirector
- 2024-08-09📄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.
- +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 "THORNTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +Young company: Only 1.8 years old — management layer unlikely to be developed.
Succession & seller-readiness
Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — THORNTON, Caroline (same surname) appointed 2024-08-09. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Caroline Thornton Individual · British · DOB 04/1976 · age 50 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 09/08/2024 |
Mr Andrew Thornton Individual · British · DOB 04/1955 · age 71 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 09/08/2024 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 20/02/2025 | — |