EUROPEAN TOOL STEELS LIMITED
⚰️Wound downdissolved
03607069 · ltd · incorporated 1998-07-30
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
63/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46720
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 63/100 (worth a look), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 79). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: low (54/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
74 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
63/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
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 (30 events)Click to expand
- 2020-10-13📄gazette-dissolved-voluntarygazette · GAZ2(A)
- 2020-10-13🏁Company dissolved
- 2020-07-07📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2020-06-25📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2020-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-03-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-03-25📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2020-03-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-03-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-03-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-23📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-02📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2016-11-01📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2016-08-02📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-23📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2015-09-21➕FIFE, Anne Mary appointeddirector
- 2015-08-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-04-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 1999-01-22➖MCDONALD, Duncan resignednominee-director
- 1998-11-24➖BICCOR LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 1998-11-03➕FIFE, Anne appointedsecretary
- 1998-11-03➕FIFE, Leslie Anthony appointeddirector
- 1998-07-30🏢Company incorporatedAs EUROPEAN TOOL STEELS LIMITED
- 1998-07-30➕BICCOR LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 1998-07-30➕MCDONALD, Duncan appointednominee-director
Owner dependency
91/100
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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
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 79 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 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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
1 high ·Company dissolved
highCompany has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2020-10-13
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Leslie Anthony Fife Individual · British · DOB 05/1947 · age 79 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Anne Mary Fife Individual · British · DOB 05/1952 · age 74 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · YO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 LONDON LTD.→ 12945761 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A & A EMERALD DISTRIBUTIONS LTD→ 16111505 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A B ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS LIMITED→ 02967188 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| A. & A. STRAW SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 02917588 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| ABC ELECTRONICS LIMITED→ 05150382 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ABRA-WELD LIMITED→ 16246887 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE SALES AND PURCHASING LTD→ 10532713 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACCESS BUILDING PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 05952723 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ACE OF PENTACLES LTD→ 16225136 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADDCORE LIMITED→ 07925722 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ADKIN SOT LIMITED→ 03502965 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| AGILE INTERIOR PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 06705838 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
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
Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated1998-07-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46720 — SIC 46720
Registered office
Heritage House Murton Way
Osbaldwick
York
North Yorkshire
YO19 5UW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2019-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —
Officers (0 active · 2 resigned)
Active
FIFE, Anne Mary→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2015-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FIFE, Leslie Anthony→
Activedirector · ~79y · appointed 1998-11-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BICCOR LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 1998-07-30 · resigned 1998-11-24
MCDONALD, Duncan→
Resignednominee-director · ~62y · appointed 1998-07-30 · resigned 1999-01-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (74 total)
gazette-dissolved-voluntary
gazette · GAZ2(A)
2020-10-13
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2020-07-07
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2020-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-03-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-03-25
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-03-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-03-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-03-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-03-25
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2019-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-08-02