AIR-FAB (MANUFACTURING) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02800505 · ltd · incorporated 1993-03-17
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.
Why now
Window closing · medium confidence
Getting harder to buy cheaply — 1 signals strengthening over the last 30 days.
  • · Deal-killer verdict: complicated → workable
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture improved over the last 30 days — 1 positive signal vs 0 negative.

  • ↑Deal-killer verdict: complicated → workable
Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
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 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
90 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
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£0Jul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Average employees400400

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-19
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2025-09-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-04-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-09-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2024-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-01-15
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  13. 2018-11-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  14. 2018-04-24
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  15. 2018-04-24
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2018-04-24
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  17. 2018-02-12
    ➖
    WRIGHT, William Henry resigned
    director
  18. 2002-03-31
    ➕
    DUNPHY, William appointed
    director
  19. 1998-07-22
    ➕
    EDWARDS, Denise Ann appointed
    secretary
  20. 1998-07-22
    ➖
    AVERY, Joyce Frances resigned
    secretary
  21. 1998-07-22
    ➖
    AVERY, Joyce Frances resigned
    director
  22. 1996-03-31
    ➕
    AVERY, Joyce Frances appointed
    director
  23. 1993-03-31
    ➕
    AVERY, Joyce Frances appointed
    secretary
  24. 1993-03-31
    ➖
    DWYER, Daniel John resigned
    nominee-secretary
  25. 1993-03-31
    ➖
    DOYLE, Betty June resigned
    nominee-director
  26. 1993-03-31
    ➖
    DWYER, Daniel John resigned
    nominee-director
  27. 1993-03-31
    ➕
    WRIGHT, William Henry appointed
    director
  28. 1993-03-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AIR-FAB (MANUFACTURING) LIMITED
  29. 1993-03-17
    ➕
    DWYER, Daniel John appointed
    nominee-secretary
  30. 1993-03-17
    ➕
    DOYLE, Betty June appointed
    nominee-director
  31. 1993-03-17
    ➕
    DWYER, Daniel John appointed
    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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — 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 69. 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 24 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Linda Sue Hardy
Individual · British · DOB 11/1947 · age 79
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting05/07/2025
Mr William Dunphy
Individual · British · DOB 09/1957 · age 69
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Charles Christopher Hardyceased 05/07/2025· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Peter Woolfreyceased 18/06/2018· 25-50% shares

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 →

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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
Incorporated1993-03-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

165 Uxbridge Road
Hampton Hill
Hampton
TW12 1BQ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

EDWARDS, Denise Ann→
secretary · appointed 1998-07-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNPHY, William→
director · ~69y · appointed 2002-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
AVERY, Joyce Frances→
secretary · appointed 1993-03-31 · resigned 1998-07-22
Resigned
DWYER, Daniel John→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-03-17 · resigned 1993-03-31
Resigned
AVERY, Joyce Frances→
director · ~88y · appointed 1996-03-31 · resigned 1998-07-22
Resigned
DOYLE, Betty June→
nominee-director · ~90y · appointed 1993-03-17 · resigned 1993-03-31
Resigned
DWYER, Daniel John→
nominee-director · ~85y · appointed 1993-03-17 · resigned 1993-03-31
Resigned
WRIGHT, William Henry→
director · ~95y · appointed 1993-03-31 · resigned 2018-02-12
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (90 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-23