A.P.C. PANELS LTD.

💤Zombieactive
02800114 · ltd · incorporated 1993-03-16
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 30.8y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 3 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
95 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · IFRS
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees12001200

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2024-06-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2024-06-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2024-06-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2024-06-13
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  8. 2024-03-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2024-03-10
    ➖
    JONES, Jeremy Hugh resigned
    director
  10. 2023-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-07-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-07-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2011-12-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
  18. 2003-05-27
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  19. 1995-09-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 1994-11-01
    ➕
    BROWN, Michael Alan appointed
    secretary
  21. 1994-11-01
    ➕
    BROWN, Michael Alan appointed
    director
  22. 1994-11-01
    ➖
    LAMB, Susan Jane resigned
    secretary
  23. 1994-11-01
    ➕
    JONES, Jeremy Hugh appointed
    director
  24. 1994-11-01
    ➖
    LAMB, Gerald William resigned
    director
  25. 1994-03-16
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1993-03-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.P.C. PANELS LTD.
  27. 1993-03-16
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1993-03-16
    ➕
    LAMB, Gerald William appointed
    director
  29. 1993-03-16
    ➕
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 1993-03-16
    ➖
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  31. 1993-03-16
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 1993-03-16
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Michael Alan Brown
Individual · British · DOB 03/1959 · age 67
25–50%
—25-50% shares01/02/2017

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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11817127 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
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ASHWOOD DESIGNS LIMITED→
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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
Incorporated1993-03-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

Harbour Reach
Atlantic Trading Estate
Barry
Vale Of Glamorgan
CF63 3RF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-30
Last: 2026-03-16

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

BROWN, Michael Alan→
secretary · appointed 1994-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BROWN, Michael Alan→
director · ~67y · appointed 1994-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAMB, Susan Jane→
secretary · resigned 1994-11-01
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-03-16 · resigned 1994-03-16
Resigned
JONES, Jeremy Hugh→
director · ~68y · appointed 1994-11-01 · resigned 2024-03-10
Resigned
LAMB, Gerald William→
director · ~65y · appointed 1993-03-16 · resigned 1994-11-01
Resigned
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-03-16 · resigned 1993-03-16
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-03-16 · resigned 1993-03-16
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
outstanding
NatWest Group
Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
All assets debenture1 property22/12/2011—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Debenture1 property26/09/199527/05/2003
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (95 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-13
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2024-06-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-29