A. E. & N. ASHTON & COMPANY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
00555058 · ltd · incorporated 1955-09-24
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 22290
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 56.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 56.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (57/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
99 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-13📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-01-26📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2004-09-10➖PIGGOTT, Christopher William resigneddirector
- 2001-01-03➕ASHTON, Rhodene appointedsecretary
- 2000-12-20➖ASHTON, Enid Gwendolen resignedsecretary
- 1999-09-03➖ASHTON, Anthony Keith resigneddirector
- 1997-04-14➕ASHTON, Anthony Keith appointeddirector
- 1997-04-14➕PIGGOTT, Christopher William appointeddirector
- 1997-04-01➖ASHTON, Anthony Keith resigneddirector
- 1981-11-09🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank LTD
- 1970-05-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank LTD
- 1955-09-24🏢Company incorporatedAs A. E. & N. ASHTON & COMPANY LIMITED
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ASHTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 78 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 71 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Sophie Alexandra Hunt Individual · British · DOB 10/1977 · age 49 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2019 |
Mr Brian Mark Ashton Individual · British · DOB 01/1948 · age 78 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. DEW LTD→ 16106229 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A&L TECHNICS LTD→ 16576123 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGA COMPOSITES LTD→ 14707511 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AGD CARPENTRY LTD→ 16338903 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AI NOLUTECH LTD→ 14911210 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AI PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 14966056 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AIR NEXT LTD→ 15013073 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AIRSOFT TAILORING LTD→ 14346365 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AL COMPOSITES LTD→ 15044067 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALDBURY PRODUCTS LTD.→ 05840945 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ALELUIA AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES LTD→ 15666018 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALESSANDRO GRASSO LTD→ 17043375 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1955-09-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC22290 — SIC 22290
Registered office
Spero
Vineyard Way
Ely
Cambs
CB7 4QQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-12-31
Last made up to: 2026-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-25
Last: 2026-01-11
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
Active
ASHTON, Enid Gwendolen→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2000-12-20
ASHTON, Anthony Keith→
Resigneddirector · ~84y · appointed 1997-04-14 · resigned 1999-09-03
ASHTON, Anthony Keith→
Resigneddirector · ~84y · resigned 1997-04-01
PIGGOTT, Christopher William→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 1997-04-14 · resigned 2004-09-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank LTD | Guarantee debenture | 1 property | 09/11/1981 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank LTD | Debenture | 1 property | 07/05/1970 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (99 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-17
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2020-01-13