3SM INVESTMENTS LIMITED
🏛️Establishedactive
12248379 · ltd · incorporated 2019-10-08
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2024
Net worth
£26.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of venture and development capital companies
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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 -97% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 5 total, 5 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £26,285
Cash draining
Cash down 97% YoY
Cash YoY
-97%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£120
↓ 97% YoY
Net Worth
£26k
↑ 135% YoY
Current Assets
£448k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £694.0k | £621.2k |
| Current assets | £447.5k | £445.3k |
| Cash | £120 | £3.7k |
| Debtors | £447.4k | £441.6k |
| Net assets | £26.3k | £11.2k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-10📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-07-04📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-07-04📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-07-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-07-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-07-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-07-01📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-07-01📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-07-01📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-07-01📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-07-01📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2025-06-20➕SELLEY, Nicholas John appointeddirector
- 2025-06-20➕SMITH, Aidan James appointeddirector
- 2025-06-20➖MCNICHOLAS, Caroline Jayne resigneddirector
- 2025-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-03-31📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-10-15➖HAMBLETON, Jonathan Lee resigneddirector
- 2019-10-15➕MCNICHOLAS, Caroline Jayne appointeddirector
- 2019-10-15📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-10-08🏢Company incorporatedAs 3SM INVESTMENTS LIMITED
- 2019-10-08➕HAMBLETON, Jonathan Lee appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Nicholas John Selley Individual · British · DOB 01/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 20/06/2025 |
Mr David Anthony Mcnicholas Individual · British · DOB 09/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 20/06/2025 |
Mr David Cyril Shipman Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 20/06/2025 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Caroline Jayne Mcnicholasceased 20/06/2025· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Mr Jonathan Lee Hambletonceased 15/10/2019· 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.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 FINANCE LIMITED→ 12111923 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 3T CAPITAL→ 12039736 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A AND M BUSINESS INVESTOR SERVICES LTD→ 08732481 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AA MORTGAGES AND FINANCE LIMITED→ 10491234 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACUMEN INVESTMENT & PENSION SOLUTIONS LTD→ 13014479 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ADLAM FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 09924372 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADVANCED MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS NORTH EAST LIMITED→ 13421800 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AFEUK LTD→ 09940027 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AKA HILL LTD→ 16140308 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMP FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 13944964 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ANWEN INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 16045000 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| APASA LIMITED→ 11458239 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2019-10-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64303 — Activities of venture and development capital companies
Registered office
Tower House & Tower Yard
Durham Tees Valley Airport
Darlington
DL2 1PD
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-21
Last: 2025-10-07
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
SELLEY, Nicholas John→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2025-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Aidan James→
Activedirector · ~39y · appointed 2025-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HAMBLETON, Jonathan Lee→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 2019-10-08 · resigned 2019-10-15
MCNICHOLAS, Caroline Jayne→
Resigneddirector · ~55y · appointed 2019-10-15 · resigned 2025-06-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-10
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-07-10
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-07-04
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-07-04
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-07-01
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-07-01
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-07-01
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-01
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-01
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-01
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-07-01
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-07-29