WILLIS & COMPANY (INSURANCE BROKERS) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
NI032004 · ltd · incorporated 1997-02-26
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 15.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding
Sector: Financial & insurance
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 66220Activities of insurance agents and brokers
Investor take
Pursue
Leverage-led grower with a 81-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 81). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (88/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 15.7y

80/100
ready

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 15.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
  • · Profitable and stable/growing — lender coverage supportable.

Data confidence

Overall: high (83/100)

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

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
13 officers (7 active, 13 linked, 12 with DOB)
88
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 7 total, 7 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
130 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 · FRS 102
Profitable
Profit before tax £5,165,820

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Profit before tax£5.17M£4.78M
Average employees98009400

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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 (43 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  3. 2025-01-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-01-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2025-01-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2025-01-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2024-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-02-12
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2024-02-12
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  10. 2024-02-12
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  11. 2024-02-12
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2024-02-12
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2023-08-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2022-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2022-01-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  16. 2021-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-12-09
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  18. 2020-12-03
    ➖
    WILLIS, Dorothy, Mrs. resigned
    secretary
  19. 2020-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2018-12-31
    ➖
    HYNDS, John Keith resigned
    director
  21. 2018-06-01
    ➕
    WILLIS, Colin Robert appointed
    director
  22. 2018-01-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  23. 2018-01-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Northern Bank Limited
  24. 2018-01-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Northern Bank Limited
  25. 2018-01-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Northern Bank Limited
  26. 2015-03-18
    ➖
    BENNINGTON, William Ernest resigned
    director
  27. 2013-11-18
    ➕
    WILLIS, Stephen James appointed
    director
  28. 2011-06-01
    ➕
    WILLIS, Mark Anthony appointed
    director
  29. 2011-01-01
    ➕
    BEDFORD, John Christian, Director appointed
    director
  30. 2010-08-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Ulster Bank Limited
  31. 2010-05-27
    ➖
    WILLIS, Dorothy, Mrs. resigned
    director
  32. 2008-09-10
    ➕
    WILLIS, Richard William appointed
    director
  33. 2008-09-10
    ➕
    BENNINGTON, William Ernest appointed
    director
  34. 2005-10-12
    ➕
    WILLIS, Dorothy, Mrs. appointed
    director
  35. 2004-09-30
    ➖
    LAIRD, Austin Duff resigned
    director
  36. 2002-12-31
    ➖
    WILSON, Paul William resigned
    director
  37. 1999-07-14
    ➕
    LAIRD, Austin Duff appointed
    director
  38. 1997-02-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WILLIS & COMPANY (INSURANCE BROKERS) LIMITED
  39. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    LENNON, Peter Gregory appointed
    director
  40. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    WILLIS, Robert Anthony appointed
    director
  41. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    WILLIS, Dorothy, Mrs. appointed
    secretary
  42. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    HYNDS, John Keith appointed
    director
  43. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    WILSON, Paul William appointed
    director

Owner dependency

88/100
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
  • -7 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "WILLIS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 81 — 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 81 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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.)

Group structure

Wf Risk Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Wf Risk Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
WILLIS & COMPANY (INSURANCE BROKERS) LIMITED
This company · NI032004

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Wf Risk Group Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
6 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Wf Risk Group Limitedceased 14/12/2017· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
  • Mr Robert Anthony Willisceased 13/12/2017· 75-100% shares
  • Mr Richard William Willisceased 06/04/2016· significant influence
  • Mr Colin Robert Willisceased 06/04/2016· significant influence
  • Mr Mark Anthony Willisceased 06/04/2016· significant influence
  • Mr Stephen James Willisceased 06/04/2016· significant influence

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Financial services · BT postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
SEOPA LTD→
NI046322 · est 2003
£34.63M
£25.18M–£44.07M
£32.38M—750023y9051y
LODGE FINANCIAL ADVICE LIMITED→
NI045612 · est 2003
£716.5k
£521.1k–£911.9k
——823y8361y
ACKER DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→
NI028267 · est 1994 · no financials extracted
————32y8360y
CREATION CONSUMER FINANCE LIMITED→
NI032565 · est 1997 · no financials extracted
————28y8367y
CRN FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
NI018912 · est 1985
——£178.8k—40y8364y
DRUMBEARN LIMITED→
NI054292 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————21y8360y
GDP PARTNERSHIP LIMITED→
NI605327 · est 2010
——£8.9k—15y8362y
INSURE I LIMITED→
NI072940 · est 2009
——£1.62M—16y8366y
M & D FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED→
NI049794 · est 2004
———60022y8360y
MCGRADY FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
NI032133 · est 1997
——£215.7k—29y8360y
MORTGAGE IQ LIMITED→
NI056126 · est 2005
——£18.4k—20y8358y
SAVAGE & PATTON (FINANCIAL SERVICES) LIMITED→
NI011459 · est 1976
——£397.5k—49y8364y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated1997-02-26
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC66190 — Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding

Registered office

55-59 Donegal Street
Belfast
BT1 2FH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-23
Last: 2026-01-09

Officers (7 active · 6 resigned)

BEDFORD, John Christian, Director→
director · ~60y · appointed 2011-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LENNON, Peter Gregory→
director · ~64y · appointed 1997-02-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIS, Colin Robert→
director · ~53y · appointed 2018-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIS, Mark Anthony→
director · ~51y · appointed 2011-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIS, Richard William→
director · ~47y · appointed 2008-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIS, Robert Anthony→
director · ~81y · appointed 1997-02-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIS, Stephen James→
director · ~42y · appointed 2013-11-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIS, Dorothy, Mrs.→
secretary · appointed 1997-02-26 · resigned 2020-12-03
Resigned
BENNINGTON, William Ernest→
director · ~73y · appointed 2008-09-10 · resigned 2015-03-18
Resigned
HYNDS, John Keith→
director · ~60y · appointed 1997-02-26 · resigned 2018-12-31
Resigned
LAIRD, Austin Duff→
director · ~83y · appointed 1999-07-14 · resigned 2004-09-30
Resigned
WILLIS, Dorothy, Mrs.→
director · ~76y · appointed 2005-10-12 · resigned 2010-05-27
Resigned
WILSON, Paul William→
director · ~85y · appointed 1997-02-26 · resigned 2002-12-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Northern Bank
Northern Bank Limited
A registered charge1 property02/01/2018—
outstanding
Northern Bank
Northern Bank Limited
A registered charge1 property02/01/2018—
outstanding
Northern Bank
Northern Bank Limited
A registered charge—02/01/2018—
satisfied
NatWest Group
Ulster Bank Limited
Mortgage debenture1 property31/08/201003/01/2018
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (130 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2025-01-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-01-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-01-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-01-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-02-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-02-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-02-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-02-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-02-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-16