ASHGROVE KITCHENS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02092604 · ltd · incorporated 1987-01-23
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 39.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£113.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 31020
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 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 39.3y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 39.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
109 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £113,813
Net assets shrinking
Down £17,779 YoY
Cash YoY
+34%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£249k
↑ 34% YoY
Net Worth
£114k
↓ 14% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | £249.1k | £185.8k |
| Net assets | £113.8k | £131.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-07-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-07-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-control-without-name-datepersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-08-22📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-08-22📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2012-05-01➖REES, Peter resignedsecretary
- 2006-04-01➕BRIMBLECOMBE, Paul appointeddirector
- 1993-11-12🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 1991-09-11🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 1987-03-06🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1987-01-23🏢Company incorporatedAs ASHGROVE KITCHENS LIMITED
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
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 73 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 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 39 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Philip John Davis Individual · British · DOB 06/1953 · age 73 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Paul Brimblecombe Individual · British · DOB 03/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 10/05/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Paul Brimblecombeceased 06/04/2016· significant influence · firm interest
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 · EX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. W. BENT LIMITED→ 00423794 · est 1946 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 79y | — | — |
| ALTIRA AEROTECH LIMITED→ 16453447 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMMOTTO LTD→ 15521514 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANDREW PINDAR LTD→ 08364993 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| APE INDUSTRIES CO LTD→ 11271567 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ARBOR & COVE LIMITED→ 15636663 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ARIES MACHINE SERVICES LTD→ 10996124 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ASHFIELD PRODUCTS LTD.→ 06614187 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ASHLEY HOUSE PRINTING COMPANY LIMITED→ 05333142 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ASHWATER FORGE AND FOUNDRY LIMITED→ 01593293 · est 1981 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 44y | — | — |
| ASHWOOD PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 07846308 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ASHWOODS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ 07852863 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1987-01-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC31020 — SIC 31020
Registered office
3 Marsh Lane
Lords Meadow Industrial Estate
Crediton
Devon
EX17 1ES
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-13
Last: 2025-06-29
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
BRIMBLECOMBE, Paul→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2006-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
REES, Peter→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2012-05-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Mortgage debenture | 1 property | 12/11/1993 | — | |
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 06/03/1987 | 11/09/1991 |
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
2025-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-09
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-07-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-25