A. BRYDEN AND CO. LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01485189 · ltd · incorporated 1980-03-13
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
£2.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueDormant / non-trading with a 96-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 96). 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).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
97 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
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
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £2,694
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£3k
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
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 | £2.7k | £2.7k |
| Net assets | £2.7k | £2.7k |
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
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-02-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-02-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2011-01-30➖BRYDEN, Elizabeth resignedsecretary
- 2000-06-20➕BRYDEN, Elizabeth appointedsecretary
- 2000-06-20➖BRYDEN, Eric resignedsecretary
- 2000-06-20➖PRESTON, Sheila resigneddirector
- 1980-03-13🏢Company incorporatedAs A. BRYDEN AND CO. 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 "BRYDEN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 96 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 96 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 46 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 Eric Bryden Individual · English · DOB 10/1930 · age 96 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| ADDINSELL (II) MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 06666730 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
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| ADVANCED MARINE GROUP LTD→ 12390800 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADVICE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 14024343 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADYA GROUP LTD→ 12539326 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AEROQUIP-VICKERS LIMITED→ 01771356 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 42y | — | — |
| AESTHETIC HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 12263317 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AGRICOLA INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 08539918 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AGRISMART ZAMBIA LTD→ 15533186 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AILEHPO CAPITAL LTD→ 14924957 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AKZO NOBEL (CPS) PENSION TRUSTEE LIMITED→ 02579110 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1980-03-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
Registered office
48 Bolton Road
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 3JL
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-01
Last: 2026-02-15
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
Active
BRYDEN, Elizabeth→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2000-06-20 · resigned 2011-01-30
BRYDEN, Eric→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2000-06-20
PRESTON, Sheila→
Resigneddirector · ~98y · resigned 2000-06-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (97 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-11-26