CURTIS DEVELOPMENTS LTD.

📈Growthactive
NI030918 · ltd · incorporated 1996-06-06
Investment thesis
Growth-phase business — story-led; valuation sensitive to momentum.
Why interesting: Trading is scaling; acquirers paying for trajectory get disproportionate leverage.
Why risky: Price often leads fundamentals; dependency on founder often high.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Conservative operator with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (78/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 29.3y

45/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
  • · Profitable and stable/growing — lender coverage supportable.

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
96 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
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Profitable
Profit before tax £118,625

Key financials

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

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Profit before tax£118.6k£93.2k
Average employees253300

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-19
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2025-06-19
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-05-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2025-04-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2025-04-14
    ➖
    SMYTH, Stephen Kenneth resigned
    director
  7. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2024-05-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2024-03-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2023-10-19
    ➕
    SMYTH, Stephen Kenneth appointed
    director
  15. 2023-10-19
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2023-05-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2022-05-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-04-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2020-12-11
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2020-08-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2020-07-01
    ➕
    TANNAHILL, Valerie Ann appointed
    director
  22. 2019-06-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  23. 2019-06-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  24. 2019-03-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  25. 2019-03-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  26. 2018-11-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Northern Bank Limited
  27. 2012-08-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Ulster Bank Limited
  28. 2012-08-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Ulster Bank Limited
  29. 2002-10-28
    ➕
    TANNAHILL, Richard Curtis Robert appointed
    director
  30. 2002-10-28
    ➖
    TANNAHILL, Mary Alice resigned
    director
  31. 2002-06-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Ulster Bank LTD
  32. 1997-02-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Ulster Bank LTD
  33. 1996-06-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CURTIS DEVELOPMENTS LTD.
  34. 1996-06-06
    ➕
    TANNAHILL, James W appointed
    secretary
  35. 1996-06-06
    ➕
    TANNAHILL, James W appointed
    director
  36. 1996-06-06
    ➕
    TANNAHILL, Mary Alice appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James W Tannahill
Individual · British · DOB 06/1956 · age 70
75–100%
—75-100% shares19/06/2019
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Richard Curtis Robert Tannahillceased 19/06/2019· 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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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
Incorporated1996-06-06
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC45111 — Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles

Registered office

7a Somerset Road
Coleraine
Co Londonderry
BT51 3LL
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-20
Last: 2025-06-06

Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)

TANNAHILL, James W→
secretary · appointed 1996-06-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TANNAHILL, James W→
director · ~70y · appointed 1996-06-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TANNAHILL, Richard Curtis Robert→
director · ~40y · appointed 2002-10-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TANNAHILL, Valerie Ann→
director · ~68y · appointed 2020-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMYTH, Stephen Kenneth→
director · ~48y · appointed 2023-10-19 · resigned 2025-04-14
Resigned
TANNAHILL, Mary Alice→
director · ~106y · appointed 1996-06-06 · resigned 2002-10-28
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Northern Bank
Northern Bank Limited
A registered charge1 property29/11/2018—
satisfied
NatWest Group
Ulster Bank Limited
Charge2 properties10/08/201226/03/2019
satisfied
NatWest Group
Ulster Bank Limited
Mortgage debenture1 property10/08/201203/06/2019
satisfied
NatWest Group
Ulster Bank LTD / East, Belfast
Mortgage or charge1 property13/06/200203/06/2019
satisfied
NatWest Group
Ulster Bank LTD
Mortgage or charge1 property07/02/199704/03/2019
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (96 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-19
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-06-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-06
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-04-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2024-10-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-01
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-03-11
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-10-19