FOYLE LANGUAGE SERVICES LTD
🌳Matureactive
NI039620 · ltd · incorporated 2000-11-09
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Translation and interpretation activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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 (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
63 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 0 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-11-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-11-22📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2016-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2000-11-09🏢Company incorporatedAs FOYLE LANGUAGE SERVICES LTD
- 2000-11-09➕MURRAY, Nuala appointedsecretary
- 2000-11-09➕MURRAY, Nuala appointeddirector
- 2000-11-09➕MURRAY, Paul B J appointeddirector
- 2000-11-09➕PALMER, Robert Desmond appointeddirector
- 2000-11-09➖PALMER, Robert Desmond resigneddirector
Owner dependency
84/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
86/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Paul Murray Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Professional services · BT postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-HEALTHCARE AGENCY LTD→ NI738448 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 160B CONSULTING LTD→ NI644088 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 1ST CARE & RECRUITMENT SERVICES LTD→ NI737746 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2-I-CONSULTANTS LTD→ NI644077 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 2306 LIMITED→ NI734403 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2BSUR LIMITED→ NI729955 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 PEAKS RECRUITMENT LIMITED→ NI738717 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3JCR LIMITED→ NI696474 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 54 NORTH DESIGN LTD→ NI646007 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 7 SUMMITS CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ NI663465 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 88 AM→ NI665303 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A1 ADVISORY LIMITED→ NI737572 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2000-11-09
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC74300 — Translation and interpretation activities
Registered office
10 Papworth Ave
Derry
BT48 8PT
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-23
Last: 2025-11-09
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
Active
MURRAY, Nuala→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2000-11-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MURRAY, Paul B J→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2000-11-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PALMER, Robert Desmond→
Resigneddirector · ~85y · appointed 2000-11-09 · resigned 2000-11-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (63 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-12-06