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How the Approach Score works

We start with every firm on Companies House that passes the filters for its list. Each firm gets an Approach Score out of 100, and the list runs from the highest score to the lowest. No firm is dropped for scoring low, and a buyer decides how far down to work.

The filters every list uses

  • Active on Companies House. Companies in liquidation, administration, receivership or a voluntary arrangement, or with a proposal to strike off, are left out.
  • Dormant companies are left out.
  • Firms whose owners asked to be removed are left out.
  • Private limited companies, public limited companies, LLPs and private unlimited companies only. Sole traders and partnerships are not covered.

What the score looks at

  • Owner tenure and age

    35 points

    The age of the oldest director with significant control, the share of directors aged 55 or over, whether any director is under 45, whether a founder is still in post, and years in post. When no director has significant control, the key age is the oldest director's. A director under 45 appointed in the last three years lowers the score.

    Long director tenure is one of the public signals included in the Approach Score. It does not indicate whether an owner is considering a sale.

  • Ownership

    15 points

    One or two individuals holding most of the firm, no corporate parent, and not part of a group that has bought several firms in the sector. The points for no corporate parent and for not being in a group come from the corporate register, so a firm with no individual shareholder records can still earn them. Firms that are already part of such a group stay on the list, flagged and scored low, because buyers want to see which firms already belong to a group. A firm that already belongs to a group that buys in the sector has its total capped at 15, whatever its other points.

    When one or two people hold the firm, a buyer knows who to write to.

  • Scale

    15 points

    Headcount against this sector's typical bolt-on size, turnover, and whether headcount is steady or rising.

    Firms of this size are the ones buyers in this sector add.

  • Financial strength

    25 points

    Positive and rising net assets, cash against total creditors, no outstanding charges, accounts filed on time. Strong firms rank higher. Figures older than the latest accounts on the register are labelled and count for less.

    Buyers look first at firms with strong finances.

  • Recent changes

    10 points

    A director leaving in the last 24 months, a charge satisfied, or a change on the register of people with significant control.

    These are facts from the register. They add points because buyers often start with firms where something has recently changed. We draw no conclusion about the owner.

Where a firm files no headcount or turnover we use our own estimate, marked est. Ages we do not hold are left out of the age measures. Other missing figures score zero.

Some rows carry the flag "A director sits on 4 or more companies". This flag is not part of the score.

Weights are fixed and shown on the page.

What it does not mean

No firm here is for sale, and the score says nothing about any owner's plans.

What we do not cover

We cover limited companies, LLPs and private unlimited companies. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships are not on Companies House, so they are not here. Regulatory information, such as CQC ratings or FCA permissions, is not included in our lists. Buyers should check the relevant register as part of their due diligence.

Why age bands but no people's names

Age bands come from the month and year of birth on Companies House. This page shows no exact ages and no people's names. Both come with the purchased list. The band edges from 45 to 65 are the ages where the score changes. A row shows no age bands when a director's surname is in the firm's name, its group's name or its website. Those directors' ages still count towards the score.