A C W ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03785989 · ltd · incorporated 1999-06-10
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
80 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 700 | 700 |
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
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2026-04-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-04-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-03-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-03-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-03-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-06-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-10➖WOOD, Sonia Jean resignedsecretary
- 2017-02-10➖WOOD, Gordon Frederick resigneddirector
- 2017-01-17➕BIRCHWOOD, Lee Andrew Philip appointeddirector
- 2001-08-01➖CROSS, Peter Albert George resigneddirector
- 1999-06-10🏢Company incorporatedAs A C W ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED
- 1999-06-10➕BHARDWAJ, Ashok appointednominee-secretary
- 1999-06-10➖BHARDWAJ, Ashok resignednominee-secretary
- 1999-06-10➕WOOD, Sonia Jean appointedsecretary
- 1999-06-10➕CROSS, Peter Albert George appointeddirector
- 1999-06-10➕WOOD, Gordon Frederick appointeddirector
- 1999-06-10➕BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1999-06-10➖BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-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 27 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
2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Lee Andrew Philip Birchwood Individual · British · DOB 09/1977 · age 49 | 75–100% | 25–50% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 08/06/2017 |
Mrs Nicola Dawn Birchwood Individual · British · DOB 05/1979 · age 47 | — | 25–50% | 25-50% voting | 09/04/2026 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC ELEVATORS LIMITED→ 11194239 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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| ABOUTTYME LTD→ 16862417 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABR TALENT LIMITED→ 11914123 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABS CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS LIMITED→ 10339821 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ABTC PROJECTS LIMITED→ 06130909 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ACA ACCOUNTS LTD→ 16120989 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACADEMY HR LIMITED→ 17036619 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCOUNTABILITY RECRUITMENT SOUTHERN LTD→ 15918718 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANTS ARE NOT ALL BORING LIMITED→ 09097281 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTART BUSINESS SERVICES LTD→ 08729430 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1999-06-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
C/O Palmer Riley & Co
Unit E2, Fareham Heights, Standard Way
Fareham
Hants
PO16 8XT
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-26
Last: 2026-03-12
Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)
BIRCHWOOD, Lee Andrew Philip→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2017-01-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BHARDWAJ, Ashok→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1999-06-10 · resigned 1999-06-10
WOOD, Sonia Jean→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-06-10 · resigned 2017-02-10
CROSS, Peter Albert George→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · appointed 1999-06-10 · resigned 2001-08-01
WOOD, Gordon Frederick→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · appointed 1999-06-10 · resigned 2017-02-10
BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-06-10 · resigned 1999-06-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (80 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-22
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-04-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-03-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-03-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-03-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-18