DIRECT PARTNERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC244443 · ltd · incorporated 2003-02-21
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£63.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
72 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £63,089

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£2k
Net Worth
£63k
Current Assets
£87k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-31
Total assets£78.5k
Current assets£86.6k
Cash£2.5k
Debtors£84.1k
Net assets£63.1k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-08
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  2. 2025-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-08-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2021-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-02-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2018-02-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2017-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-03-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-03-07
    ➕
    DOCHERTY, Antony appointed
    director
  17. 2013-03-07
    ➖
    HADDOW, Shona resigned
    secretary
  18. 2010-02-15
    ➖
    TRACY, Thomas resigned
    director
  19. 2007-03-01
    ➖
    HADDOW, Alan Harley resigned
    secretary
  20. 2007-03-01
    ➕
    HADDOW, Shona appointed
    secretary
  21. 2007-02-01
    ➕
    TRACY, Debra Catherine appointed
    director
  22. 2003-03-21
    ➕
    HADDOW, Alan Harley appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-03-15
    ➖
    HADDOW, Shona Lesley resigned
    secretary
  24. 2003-03-15
    ➖
    HADDOW, Shona Lesley resigned
    director
  25. 2003-03-15
    ➖
    TRACY, Debra Catherine resigned
    director
  26. 2003-03-14
    ➕
    TRACY, Thomas appointed
    director
  27. 2003-02-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DIRECT PARTNERS LIMITED
  28. 2003-02-21
    ➕
    HADDOW, Shona Lesley appointed
    secretary
  29. 2003-02-21
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2003-02-21
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2003-02-21
    ➕
    HADDOW, Shona Lesley appointed
    director
  32. 2003-02-21
    ➕
    TRACY, Debra Catherine appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Miss Debra Tracy
Individual · British · DOB 06/1965 · age 61
50–75%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · firm interest21/02/2017
Mr Antony Docherty
Individual · British · DOB 12/1958 · age 68
25–50%
—board control25-50% shares · board control21/02/2017

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 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
Incorporated2003-02-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.

Registered office

6-8 Dewar Place Lane
Dewar Place Lane
Edinburgh
EH3 8EF
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-11
Last: 2026-01-28

Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)

DOCHERTY, Antony→
director · ~68y · appointed 2013-03-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TRACY, Debra Catherine→
director · ~61y · appointed 2007-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HADDOW, Alan Harley→
secretary · appointed 2003-03-21 · resigned 2007-03-01
Resigned
HADDOW, Shona→
secretary · appointed 2007-03-01 · resigned 2013-03-07
Resigned
HADDOW, Shona Lesley→
secretary · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2003-03-15
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2003-02-21
Resigned
HADDOW, Shona Lesley→
director · ~60y · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2003-03-15
Resigned
TRACY, Debra Catherine→
director · ~61y · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2003-03-15
Resigned
TRACY, Thomas→
director · ~85y · appointed 2003-03-14 · resigned 2010-02-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (72 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-28
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2026-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-17