ADVANCED CIRCUIT ENGINEERING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03157019 · ltd · incorporated 1996-02-08
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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

1 live charge · oldest 26.2y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 26.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (57/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
11 officers (2 active, 11 linked, 7 with DOB)
83
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
90 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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-07-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2025-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-02
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2023-10-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2023-10-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-09-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2022-09-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2022-09-16
    ➖
    BLOWER, Stephen William resigned
    director
  12. 2022-09-16
    ➖
    BROWN, David John resigned
    director
  13. 2021-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2000-05-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  19. 2000-04-14
    ➖
    BALL, Christopher John resigned
    director
  20. 2000-04-14
    ➖
    WALKER, Andrew resigned
    director
  21. 1997-04-23
    ➕
    BALL, Christopher John appointed
    director
  22. 1997-04-23
    ➕
    WALKER, Andrew appointed
    director
  23. 1997-02-28
    ➕
    PURDON, John Powell appointed
    secretary
  24. 1997-02-28
    ➕
    PURDON, John Powell appointed
    director
  25. 1997-02-28
    ➖
    YATES, Gary resigned
    secretary
  26. 1997-02-28
    ➕
    BLOWER, Stephen William appointed
    director
  27. 1997-02-28
    ➕
    BROWN, David John appointed
    director
  28. 1997-02-28
    ➖
    FERDENZI, Stephen Anthony resigned
    director
  29. 1997-02-28
    ➖
    YATES, Gary resigned
    director
  30. 1996-02-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADVANCED CIRCUIT ENGINEERING LIMITED
  31. 1996-02-08
    ➕
    BHARDWAJ, Ashok appointed
    nominee-secretary
  32. 1996-02-08
    ➖
    BHARDWAJ, Ashok resigned
    nominee-secretary
  33. 1996-02-08
    ➕
    YATES, Gary appointed
    secretary
  34. 1996-02-08
    ➕
    FERDENZI, Stephen Anthony appointed
    director
  35. 1996-02-08
    ➕
    YATES, Gary appointed
    director
  36. 1996-02-08
    ➕
    BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  37. 1996-02-08
    ➖
    BHARDWAJ CORPORATE 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 29 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 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Jean Anne Purdon
Individual · British · DOB 07/1957 · age 69
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting07/02/2017
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Vicky Blowerceased 02/10/2023· 25-50% shares
  • Gail Ann Campbell Brownceased 02/10/2023· 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
Incorporated1996-02-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

37a Birmingham New Road
Wolverhampton
West Midlands
WV4 6BL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-22
Last: 2026-02-08

Officers (2 active · 9 resigned)

PURDON, John Powell→
secretary · appointed 1997-02-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PURDON, John Powell→
director · ~69y · appointed 1997-02-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BHARDWAJ, Ashok→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-02-08 · resigned 1996-02-08
Resigned
YATES, Gary→
secretary · appointed 1996-02-08 · resigned 1997-02-28
Resigned
BALL, Christopher John→
director · ~57y · appointed 1997-04-23 · resigned 2000-04-14
Resigned
BLOWER, Stephen William→
director · ~72y · appointed 1997-02-28 · resigned 2022-09-16
Resigned
BROWN, David John→
director · ~73y · appointed 1997-02-28 · resigned 2022-09-16
Resigned
FERDENZI, Stephen Anthony→
director · ~70y · appointed 1996-02-08 · resigned 1997-02-28
Resigned
WALKER, Andrew→
director · ~68y · appointed 1997-04-23 · resigned 2000-04-14
Resigned
YATES, Gary→
director · ~74y · appointed 1996-02-08 · resigned 1997-02-28
Resigned
BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-02-08 · resigned 1996-02-08
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property02/05/2000—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (90 total)

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-10-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-10-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-09-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-10