A.F.DREW (CONSTRUCTION) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

00900809 · ltd · incorporated 1967-03-15

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

£376.4k

book net assets

Opportunity

75/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

99 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

75/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £376,384

Net assets shrinking

Down £2,031 YoY

Cash YoY

+10%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£357k

↑ 10% YoY

Net Worth

£376k

~ YoY

Current Assets

£421k

~ YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£380.0k	£383.5k
Current assets	£420.9k	£417.5k
Cash	£356.6k	£323.2k
Debtors	£50.1k	£77.5k
Net assets	£376.4k	£378.4k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-09-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-17
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2019-11-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-10-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-07-18
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2016-07-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-07-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-07-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-07-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-06-28
➖
DREW, Sheila Anne resigned
secretary
2016-06-28
➖
DREW, George Albert resigned
director
2016-06-28
➖
DREW, Robert Frank resigned
director
2016-06-28
➖
DREW, Sheila Anne resigned
director
2016-06-28
➖
DREW, Sheila Margaret resigned
director
2009-05-15
➕
DREW, James Robert appointed
director
1967-03-15
🏢
Company incorporated
As A.F.DREW (CONSTRUCTION) LIMITED

Owner dependency

100/100

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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DREW" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 59 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

clean

No 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr James Robert Drew Individual · British · DOB 03/1974 · age 52	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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

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Active · Construction · BS postcode area

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3C PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS LTD→ 07774421 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
A & E PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE LTD→ 04631018 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
A FIRE SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16217735 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
A.G. MACNAB LIMITED→ 02955119 · est 1994 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	—	—
A.G. PLUMBING & HEATING LTD→ 05517472 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
ADEMI CONTRACTORS LTD→ 14476105 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ADL CONSTRUCTION SOUTHWEST LTD→ 12510606 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ADN DRYLINING LTD→ 10661719 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ADORN CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 12766313 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ADRIAN STOUTE LANDSCAPING LTD→ 11385590 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ADS BUILDING SERVICES (BRISTOL) LTD→ 11292835 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ADVANCED BUILD CONCEPTS LIMITED→ 08028838 · est 2012 · 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

Incorporated1967-03-15

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.

Registered office

38 Mill Lane

Frampton Cotterell

Bristol

BS36 2AA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-14

Last: 2025-12-31

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

DREW, James Robert→

director · ~52y · appointed 2009-05-15

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DREW, Sheila Anne→

secretary · resigned 2016-06-28

Resigned

DREW, George Albert→

director · ~81y · resigned 2016-06-28

Resigned

DREW, Robert Frank→

director · ~85y · resigned 2016-06-28

Resigned

DREW, Sheila Anne→

director · ~84y · resigned 2016-06-28

Resigned

DREW, Sheila Margaret→

director · ~77y · resigned 2016-06-28

Resigned

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