A.T. OSBORNE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01218876 · ltd · incorporated 1975-07-09
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 2024
Net worth
£-74.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Repair of machinery
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -82% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 50.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 50.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
97 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £74,858
Very low cash
Cash position: £74
Cash draining
Cash down 82% YoY
Cash YoY
-82%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£74
↓ 82% YoY
Net Worth
-£75k
↑ 28% YoY
Current Assets
£121k
↑ 17% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-71.2k | £-92.2k |
| Current assets | £121.4k | £104.2k |
| Cash | £74 | £413 |
| Debtors | £68.5k | £55.2k |
| Net assets | £-74.9k | £-104.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
2
filings
- • 2 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-10📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-02-10📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-10-25➖OSBORNE, Joan Whetren resignedsecretary
- 2024-10-25➖OSBORNE, Joan Whetren resigneddirector
- 2024-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-05📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-26📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-09-12➖OSBORNE, Anthony Thomas resigneddirector
- 2009-08-07➖OSBORNE, Brett Thomas resigneddirector
- 1982-06-22🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 1977-02-10🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 1975-10-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 1975-07-09🏢Company incorporatedAs A.T. OSBORNE 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 "OSBORNE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 51 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Mark Osborne Individual · British · DOB 03/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 20/06/2017 |
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
Active · Manufacturing · SO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A TO Z ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14257172 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A TOWN CARPENTRY LTD→ 16559816 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALEX KIMBER DESIGN LTD→ 13218301 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALEX SMITH GUNS LTD→ 12162539 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AMBRETT HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 16144848 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMPRESS WELDING & FABRICATIONS LIMITED→ 05312006 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| AQUACAT BOATS LTD→ 15383052 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ARCHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→ 16374713 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ARDENT KITCHENS LIMITED→ 10290967 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ARGON WELDING LTD→ 06619514 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ARLICO LTD→ 08365104 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ARMORTEK LIMITED→ 06084164 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
9 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
Incorporated1975-07-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33120 — Repair of machinery
Registered office
"Wychwood"
Shelley Lane
Ower
Romsey Hampshire
SO51 6ZL
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-19
Last: 2026-03-05
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
Active
OSBORNE, Joan Whetren→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2024-10-25
OSBORNE, Anthony Thomas→
Resigneddirector · ~97y · resigned 2016-09-12
OSBORNE, Brett Thomas→
Resigneddirector · ~70y · resigned 2009-08-07
OSBORNE, Joan Whetren→
Resigneddirector · ~91y · resigned 2024-10-25
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 22/06/1982 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Single debenture | 1 property | 10/02/1977 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 23/10/1975 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (97 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-02-10
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-24