A H WARDLE BUILDERS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01890100 · ltd · incorporated 1985-02-26
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 2025
Net worth
£-8.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 99000Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 10 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
10 live charges · oldest 41.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 41.1 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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
10 charges (10/10 with lender, 10/10 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
101 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
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 £7,963
Cash YoY
+50%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1k
↑ 50% YoY
Net Worth
-£8k
↓ 9.6% 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 | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-8.0k | £-7.3k |
| Cash | £1.3k | £866 |
| Net assets | £-8.0k | £-7.3k |
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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-04📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-12-03📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-03-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-09-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-12-20➖WARDLE, Colin resigneddirector
- 2002-07-05➖BRYDEN, John William resigneddirector
- 1989-08-10🔒Charge registered #10Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1989-06-08🔒Charge registered #9Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1988-05-27🔒Charge registered #8Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1988-03-03🔒Charge registered #7Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1987-08-21🔒Charge registered #6Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1987-08-18🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1987-01-23🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1987-01-19🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1986-03-17🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1985-04-25🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1985-02-26🏢Company incorporatedAs A H WARDLE BUILDERS LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 77 — 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 77 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 41 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 low10 live charges
lowHeavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Stanley Cottrell Individual · British · DOB 03/1949 · age 77 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 08/09/2016 |
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
Active · Construction · SP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST CHOICE PROPERTY SOLUTIONS BA LTD→ 15142346 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 1ST VIEW DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ 15768814 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4WALLS PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 09974194 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 5 STARS DECORATING LTD→ 15796522 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 5P CONTRACTS LTD→ 14661018 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A D FINISHES LIMITED→ 07202814 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| A-CARS TRAVEL LTD→ 08297809 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| A-CLASS ROOFING AND CONSTRUCTION LTD→ 09874267 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A-GAME ROOFING SPECIALIST LTD→ 17089304 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A.C. WALLBRIDGE AND COMPANY LIMITED→ 01376368 · est 1978 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 47y | — | — |
| A.D. COSTA LTD→ 13340318 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A.D.E. HOME MAINTENANCE SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16517587 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1985-02-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Suite 13 Enterprise House Boathouse Meadow Business Park
Cherry Orchard Lane
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP2 7LD
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-29
Last: 2025-09-15
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
Active
BRYDEN, John William→
Resigneddirector · ~86y · resigned 2002-07-05
WARDLE, Colin→
Resigneddirector · ~81y · resigned 2014-12-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
10
Total charges
10
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:10 of 10 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 10/08/1989 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 08/06/1989 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 27/05/1988 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 03/03/1988 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Charge | 1 property | 21/08/1987 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 18/08/1987 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 23/01/1987 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 19/01/1987 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 17/03/1986 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 25/04/1985 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (101 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-19
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-12-04
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-29