BRUNNER MACHINE TOOLS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00865656 · ltd · incorporated 1965-12-03
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 Dec 2025
Net worth
£47.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46140
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 70). 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

2 live charges · oldest 43.9y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 43.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · 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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
109 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
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £47,352
Net assets shrinking
Down £31,648 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£47k
↓ 40% YoY
Current Assets
£63k
↓ 32% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£19k£37k£56k£75k£93kDec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Total assets£49.2k£79.0k
Current assets£63.0k£93.3k
Net assets£47.4k£79.0k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 address
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2026-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-11-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2025-10-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2025-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-05-18
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  7. 2025-05-18
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  8. 2024-07-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-04-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2020-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-10-31
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2018-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-11-10
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Margaret resigned
    secretary
  18. 2017-11-10
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  19. 2015-12-31
    ➖
    LEMON, Thomas Barrie resigned
    director
  20. 2015-12-01
    ➕
    HORTON, Keith appointed
    director
  21. 2015-12-01
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  22. 2015-04-22
    ➕
    LEMON, Thomas Barrie appointed
    director
  23. 2015-04-10
    ➖
    BRUNNER, Edwin resigned
    director
  24. 2011-11-25
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Margaret appointed
    secretary
  25. 2011-11-24
    ➖
    BRUNNER, Myrtha resigned
    secretary
  26. 2011-11-24
    ➖
    BRUNNER, Myrtha resigned
    director
  27. 1982-08-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  28. 1982-08-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  29. 1965-12-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BRUNNER MACHINE TOOLS 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 70 — 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 70 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 61 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 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Keith Horton
Individual · British · DOB 12/1956 · age 70
25–50%
—25-50% 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
Incorporated1965-12-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46140 — SIC 46140

Registered office

7 Acorn Close
Sutton On Sea
LN12 1GR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-13
Last: 2025-10-30

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

HORTON, Keith→
director · ~70y · appointed 2015-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRUNNER, Myrtha→
secretary · resigned 2011-11-24
Resigned
TAYLOR, Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2011-11-25 · resigned 2017-11-10
Resigned
BRUNNER, Edwin→
director · ~94y · resigned 2015-04-10
Resigned
BRUNNER, Myrtha→
director · ~93y · resigned 2011-11-24
Resigned
LEMON, Thomas Barrie→
director · ~81y · appointed 2015-04-22 · resigned 2015-12-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property24/08/198201/12/2015
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property24/08/198218/05/2025

Recent filings (109 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-22
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-28