ASTEX LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC390304 · ltd · incorporated 2010-12-13
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 Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Educational support services
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-09📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2021-04-06📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2020-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-29📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-01-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-01-29📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-01-28➖WYCHERLEY, Gemma Susan resigneddirector
- 2020-01-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-01-06➕CLAYTON, Lorna Shireen Paterson appointeddirector
- 2020-01-06➕CLAYTON, Richard William Darwin appointeddirector
- 2020-01-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-01-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2010-12-13🏢Company incorporatedAs ASTEX LIMITED
- 2010-12-13➕WYCHERLEY, Gemma Susan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
81/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
66/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Lorna Shireen Paterson Clayton Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board controlsig. influence50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest | 16/01/2020 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Gemma Susan Wycherleyceased 28/01/2020· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
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 · Education & training · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLYDE STRENGTH LTD→ SC873978 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CME INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC234534 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| DAKUSFRAN LIMITED→ SC739300 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DAWN CALLING CIC→ SC791187 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DIRECT PARTNERS LIMITED→ SC244443 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| DISABILITY EQUALITY SCOTLAND→ SC243392 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| DOUGLAS J. NOBLE LIMITED→ SC247234 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| DRIVINGS COOL LIMITED→ SC274988 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| DYSLEXIC TIPS CONSULTANT LIMITED→ SC816166 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| E C SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC426926 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| EASTERHOUSE (HENOSIS) LTD→ SC755545 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| EDINBURGH ATELIER OF FINE ART LTD→ SC400997 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-12-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85600 — Educational support services
Registered office
1 Wester Dalmeny Steading
Dalmeny
Edinburgh
EH30 9TT
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-23
Last: 2026-02-09
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
CLAYTON, Lorna Shireen Paterson→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2020-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CLAYTON, Richard William Darwin→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2020-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WYCHERLEY, Gemma Susan→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 2010-12-13 · resigned 2020-01-28
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (42 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-07-22
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2021-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-08
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2021-04-06