STEPPING STONES HOLDINGS LTD
Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 2 | 200 |
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
Corporate timeline (9 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-28📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-09-04🏢Company incorporatedAs STEPPING STONES HOLDINGS LTD
- 2020-09-04➕LAWSON, Alan appointeddirector
- 2020-09-04➕LAWSON, Carol Ann appointeddirector
- 2020-09-04📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 6 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
- 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 Carol Ann Lawson Individual · British · DOB 10/1972 · age 54 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 04/09/2020 |
Mr Alan Lawson Individual · British · DOB 09/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 04/09/2020 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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| THE ACADEMY OF HAIRDRESSING EXCELLENCE LIMITED→ SC199553 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| THE EDUCATION ACADEMY SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC533396 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| THE FOLKS' MUSIC PROJECT CIC→ SC692922 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF MUSIC (GSOFM) LIMITED→ SC627435 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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6 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)
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