ADOLPH NUMERICAL CONTROLS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01223158 · ltd · incorporated 1975-08-15
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
£-6.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 · 2 lenders · oldest 47.4y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 47.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
96 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
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 £6,932
Cash YoY
+150%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£14k
↑ 150% YoY
Net Worth
-£7k
↓ 152% YoY
Current Assets
£19k
↓ 19% 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 | £-6.9k | £-2.8k |
| Current assets | £19.3k | £23.8k |
| Cash | £14.2k | £5.7k |
| Debtors | £590 | £13.6k |
| Net assets | £-6.9k | £-2.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-31📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2017-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-30➖ADOLPH, Joanna resignedsecretary
- 2016-02-26📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2015-01-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 1998-01-06🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1996-03-22➕ADOLPH, Emanuel Roland Walter appointeddirector
- 1996-03-22➖ADOLPH, Dagmar Ingrid Margot resignedsecretary
- 1996-03-22➕ADOLPH, Joanna appointedsecretary
- 1996-03-22➖ADOLPH, Dagmar Ingrid Margot resigneddirector
- 1996-03-22➖ADOLPH, Winfried Gustav Siegfried resigneddirector
- 1978-12-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank LTD
- 1975-08-15🏢Company incorporatedAs ADOLPH NUMERICAL CONTROLS 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 "ADOLPH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 51 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
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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Emanuel Roland Walter Adolph Individual · British · DOB 06/1967 · age 59 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 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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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42TETHERDOWNMANAGEMENT RTM COMPANY LTD→ 13342163 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A.H HAIRDRESSING LIMITED→ 14427197 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AAA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD→ 10820560 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ABBEY FLYERS LIMITED→ 07127430 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE I T RECRUITMENT LIMITED→ 10819961 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS (HERTS) LIMITED→ 10106256 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACS UTILITY SERVICES LIMITED→ 10823036 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AESTHETICS BY AINA LTD→ 14309938 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AG CROP & ENVIRONMENT LIMITED→ 11814442 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AHEAD MEDIATION AND CONSULTING LTD→ 17107119 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AHEADSTYLE LTD→ 15341671 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AI4.STYLE LTD→ 14885801 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1975-08-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
15 Oakhill Drive
Welwyn
Herts
AL6 9NW
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-13
Last: 2025-12-30
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
ADOLPH, Emanuel Roland Walter→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 1996-03-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ADOLPH, Dagmar Ingrid Margot→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1996-03-22
ADOLPH, Joanna→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-03-22 · resigned 2016-12-30
ADOLPH, Dagmar Ingrid Margot→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · resigned 1996-03-22
ADOLPH, Winfried Gustav Siegfried→
Resigneddirector · ~91y · resigned 1996-03-22
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 PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 06/01/1998 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank LTD | Legal charge | 1 property | 13/12/1978 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (96 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-25