A.J. MECHANICAL HANDLING SERVICES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
01108310 · ltd · incorporated 1973-04-13
Investment thesis
Property vehicle with leveraged stack — refinance / partial-release angle.
Why interesting: Asset-backed; value largely in underlying property; lender engagement likely possible.
Why risky: Multiple lenders to manage; inter-creditor friction and partial-release cost possible.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£152.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
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
Property-backed borrower with a 84-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 84). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

7 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 40.4y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 40.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 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
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
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 £152,131
Net assets shrinking
Down £392 YoY
Cash YoY
-16%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£7k
↓ 16% YoY
Net Worth
£152k
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£31k£61k£92k£122k£153kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£152.1k£152.5k
Cash£7.3k£8.7k
Net assets£152.1k£152.5k

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 (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2024-04-15
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2023-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-05-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  8. 2021-08-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-08-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-audited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-06-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-05-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-06-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2008-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  18. 2008-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  19. 2008-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  20. 2008-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  21. 2008-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  22. 2003-08-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  23. 2003-07-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  24. 2003-06-06
    ➕
    KEMP, Stephen Arthur appointed
    secretary
  25. 2003-06-06
    ➖
    KEMP, Barbara Jean resigned
    secretary
  26. 1998-11-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  27. 1996-05-12
    ➕
    KEMP, Stephen Arthur appointed
    director
  28. 1996-05-12
    ➖
    KEMP, Arthur John resigned
    director
  29. 1995-01-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: General Guarantee Corporation Limited
  30. 1993-06-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  31. 1993-03-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Capital Asset Finance Limited
  32. 1986-01-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  33. 1973-04-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.J. MECHANICAL HANDLING SERVICES LIMITED

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 84 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
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 84 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 53 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Barry Robert Barnes
Individual · British · DOB 10/1942 · age 84
25–50%
—25-50% shares13/11/2023
Mrs Alison Christine Kemp
Individual · English · DOB 01/1956 · age 70
25–50%
—25-50% shares17/04/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Carole Barnesceased 13/11/2023· 25-50% shares

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

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
Incorporated1973-04-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

3 Manor Gardens
Farmborough
Bath
BA2 0AS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-23
Last: 2025-06-09

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

KEMP, Stephen Arthur→
secretary · appointed 2003-06-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARNES, Barry Robert→
director · ~84y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KEMP, Stephen Arthur→
director · ~69y · appointed 1996-05-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KEMP, Barbara Jean→
secretary · resigned 2003-06-06
Resigned
KEMP, Arthur John→
director · ~95y · resigned 1996-05-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property07/08/2003—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property03/07/2003—
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property20/11/199824/12/2008
satisfied
General Guarantee Corporation
General Guarantee Corporation Limited
Deed of charge by way of assignment1 property18/01/199524/12/2008
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property29/06/199324/12/2008
satisfied
Capital Asset Finance
Capital Asset Finance Limited
Deed of assignment1 property31/03/199324/12/2008
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Fixed and floating charge1 property22/01/198624/12/2008
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (109 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-14
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-04-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-18