WILL FREIGHT SERVICES LIMITED

📉Decliningactive
NI013381 · ltd · incorporated 1979-02-21
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.
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "declining"
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
£786.2k
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Conservative operator with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (85/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 30.0y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (2 active, 10 linked, 9 with DOB)
88
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
146 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Profitable
Profit before tax £214,104
Turnover YoY
-5%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Turnover£786.2k£827.1k
Gross profit£491.5k£526.6k
Profit before tax£214.1k£268.5k
Average employees400400

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 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (39 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-26
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  2. 2025-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-03-31
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2022-03-31
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2021-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-06-07
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Denise appointed
    director
  10. 2021-06-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2020-06-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-24
    📄
    capital-cancellation-shares
    capital · SH06
  13. 2019-11-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2019-11-05
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2019-11-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2019-11-05
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  17. 2019-10-16
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  18. 2019-10-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2019-09-30
    ➖
    DAWN EVELYN, Hamilton resigned
    secretary
  20. 2019-09-30
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Evelyn Dawn resigned
    director
  21. 2019-09-30
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Robert James resigned
    director
  22. 2019-09-27
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  23. 2019-09-27
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  24. 2019-03-01
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Alan Keith resigned
    director
  25. 2007-03-01
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Ivan appointed
    director
  26. 2006-07-20
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Robert Edward resigned
    director
  27. 2006-04-10
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Robert James appointed
    director
  28. 2004-01-30
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Kenneth William George resigned
    director
  29. 2003-11-14
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Robert James resigned
    director
  30. 2003-10-31
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Evelyn Dawn appointed
    director
  31. 2002-12-01
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Ivan resigned
    director
  32. 2002-08-01
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Kenneth William George appointed
    director
  33. 2002-05-24
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Robert James appointed
    director
  34. 1996-05-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Aib Group (UK) PLC
  35. 1979-02-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WILL FREIGHT SERVICES LIMITED
  36. 1979-02-21
    ➕
    DAWN EVELYN, Hamilton appointed
    secretary
  37. 1979-02-21
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Alan Keith appointed
    director
  38. 1979-02-21
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Ivan appointed
    director
  39. 1979-02-21
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Robert Edward appointed
    director

Owner dependency

84/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 47 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

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 Ivan Hamilton
Individual · British · DOB 05/1963 · age 63
25–50%
—25-50% shares25/01/2019
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Robert James Hamiltonceased 30/09/2019· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Alan Keith Hamiltonceased 01/03/2019· 25-50% shares

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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——7716y9458y
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
Incorporated1979-02-21
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road

Registered office

Unit B4 Antrim Enterprise Agency
Greystone Road
Antrim
BT41 1JZ
Northern Ireland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-21
Last: 2025-06-07

Officers (2 active · 8 resigned)

HAMILTON, Denise→
director · ~61y · appointed 2021-06-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HAMILTON, Ivan→
director · ~63y · appointed 2007-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DAWN EVELYN, Hamilton→
secretary · appointed 1979-02-21 · resigned 2019-09-30
Resigned
HAMILTON, Alan Keith→
director · ~64y · appointed 1979-02-21 · resigned 2019-03-01
Resigned
HAMILTON, Evelyn Dawn→
director · ~80y · appointed 2003-10-31 · resigned 2019-09-30
Resigned
HAMILTON, Ivan→
director · ~63y · appointed 1979-02-21 · resigned 2002-12-01
Resigned
HAMILTON, Kenneth William George→
director · ~69y · appointed 2002-08-01 · resigned 2004-01-30
Resigned
HAMILTON, Robert James→
director · ~88y · appointed 2006-04-10 · resigned 2019-09-30
Resigned
HAMILTON, Robert James→
director · ~88y · appointed 2002-05-24 · resigned 2003-11-14
Resigned
HAMILTON, Robert Edward→
director · ~68y · appointed 1979-02-21 · resigned 2006-07-20
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Aib Group (UK)
Aib Group (UK) PLC
Mortgage or charge1 property30/05/199627/09/2019

Recent filings (146 total)

change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-03-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-08
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-18