A.J.HAWKINS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00316946 · ltd · incorporated 1936-07-29
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 37.2y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 37.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
107 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
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31

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 (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-16
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  4. 2024-12-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  5. 2023-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-11-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2023-11-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2023-11-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2022-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-08-31
    ➖
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, Kathleen Minnie resigned
    director
  18. 2014-10-20
    ➖
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, John Leslie resigned
    secretary
  19. 2014-10-20
    ➖
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, John Leslie resigned
    director
  20. 2014-10-01
    ➕
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, Mary Elizabeth appointed
    director
  21. 2009-10-03
    ➕
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, John Leslie appointed
    secretary
  22. 2009-10-02
    ➖
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, Frederick Leslie George resigned
    secretary
  23. 2009-10-02
    ➖
    MOUNTSTEPHEN, Frederick Leslie George resigned
    director
  24. 2007-02-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  25. 2007-02-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  26. 2006-07-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  27. 2003-11-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  28. 2001-11-16
    ➖
    WESTACOTT, Barbara Mary resigned
    director
  29. 1989-04-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  30. 1936-07-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.J.HAWKINS LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 90 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Mary Elizabeth Mountstephen
Individual · British · DOB 06/1952 · age 74
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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

8 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
Incorporated1936-07-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

Howbery Business Park
Benson Lane
Wallingford
OX10 8BA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-05
Last: 2025-09-21

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

MOUNTSTEPHEN, Mary Elizabeth→
director · ~74y · appointed 2014-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOUNTSTEPHEN, Frederick Leslie George→
secretary · resigned 2009-10-02
Resigned
MOUNTSTEPHEN, John Leslie→
secretary · appointed 2009-10-03 · resigned 2014-10-20
Resigned
MOUNTSTEPHEN, Frederick Leslie George→
director · ~111y · resigned 2009-10-02
Resigned
MOUNTSTEPHEN, John Leslie→
director · ~78y · resigned 2014-10-20
Resigned
MOUNTSTEPHEN, Kathleen Minnie→
director · ~105y · resigned 2015-08-31
Resigned
WESTACOTT, Barbara Mary→
director · ~113y · resigned 2001-11-16
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property21/07/200616/12/2024
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property18/11/200314/02/2007
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property12/04/198914/02/2007

Recent filings (107 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-11
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-11-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-27