HOUGHTON PLANNING LTD
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -34% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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 102Key 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 | 2025-10-31 | 2024-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £21.0k | £31.1k |
| Current assets | £38.5k | £49.5k |
| Cash | £27.0k | £40.7k |
| Debtors | £11.5k | £8.8k |
| Net assets | £21.0k | £31.1k |
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
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (7 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-05🏢Company incorporatedAs HOUGHTON PLANNING LTD
- 2021-10-05➕HOUGHTON, Paul John appointeddirector
- 2021-10-05📄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.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "HOUGHTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Lee Suzanne Houghton Individual · British · DOB 07/1971 · age 55 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 05/10/2021 |
Mr Paul John Houghton Individual · British · DOB 12/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 05/10/2021 |
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 (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.