AFL ENGINEERING (N.E) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02581355 · ltd · incorporated 1991-02-11
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 May 2025
Net worth
£528.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Machining
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 29.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 29.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
91 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
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £528,714
Cash YoY
-5%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£163k
↓ 5.2% YoY
Net Worth
£529k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£465k
↓ 1.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £538.0k | £530.2k |
| Current assets | £465.4k | £474.3k |
| Cash | £163.0k | £172.1k |
| Debtors | £176.5k | £195.1k |
| Net assets | £528.7k | £523.8k |
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 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-27📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-21📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-08-21📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-08-08➖LUCAS, Lee James resigneddirector
- 2020-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-04➕LUCAS, Ian appointeddirector
- 2020-02-04📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-09-26📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-09-26📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2019-09-26📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-09-09➖LUCAS, Frank Graham resignedsecretary
- 2019-09-09➖LUCAS, Frank Graham resigneddirector
- 2018-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2006-04-06➖HAYNES, Alan resignedsecretary
- 2006-04-06➖HAYNES, Alan resigneddirector
- 2006-04-05➕LUCAS, Frank Graham appointedsecretary
- 2006-04-05➕LUCAS, Lee James appointeddirector
- 1996-12-24🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1991-03-06➕HAYNES, Alan appointedsecretary
- 1991-03-06➖MBC SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1991-03-06➕HAYNES, Alan appointeddirector
- 1991-03-06➕LUCAS, Frank Graham appointeddirector
- 1991-03-06➖MBC NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1991-02-11🏢Company incorporatedAs AFL ENGINEERING (N.E) LIMITED
- 1991-02-11➕MBC SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1991-02-11➕MBC NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 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 Ian Lucas Individual · British · DOB 07/1970 · age 56 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 08/08/2020 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Lee James Lucasceased 08/08/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Mr Frank Graham Lucasceased 09/09/2019· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting
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 · NE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEC CONSULTING LIMITED→ 16707129 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AEI CABLES LIMITED→ 07745837 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AEROTECH AVIATION SERVICES LTD→ 17017069 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AF VISUALS LTD→ 17036643 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AFTER A LOCK AND SAFE LIMITED→ 03998786 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| AG UK ART LIMITED→ 15221671 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AGA INDUSTRY LTD→ 15054425 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AGMA LIMITED→ 00939450 · est 1968 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 57y | — | — |
| AGRICHEMIX LIMITED→ 16831941 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGW MECHANICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 14840876 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AH METAL & WASTE RECYCLING LTD→ 16757577 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AH PANEL SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16286649 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1991-02-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25620 — Machining
Registered office
Unit 2 Wagonway Indst Est
Wagonway Road
Hebburn
Tyne And Wear
NE31 1SP
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-15
Last: 2025-12-01
Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)
Active
HAYNES, Alan→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1991-03-06 · resigned 2006-04-06
LUCAS, Frank Graham→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-04-05 · resigned 2019-09-09
MBC SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1991-02-11 · resigned 1991-03-06
HAYNES, Alan→
Resigneddirector · ~89y · appointed 1991-03-06 · resigned 2006-04-06
LUCAS, Frank Graham→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · appointed 1991-03-06 · resigned 2019-09-09
LUCAS, Lee James→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2006-04-05 · resigned 2020-08-08
MBC NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1991-02-11 · resigned 1991-03-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 24/12/1996 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (91 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2020-08-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-25
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-08-21