A14 NFB LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03858804 · ltd · incorporated 1999-10-14
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 Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 18129
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 26.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 26.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 5 | 500 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-10-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-21📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-10-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-10-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-10-21📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-31➖DOWNER, Eric Roger resigneddirector
- 2020-10-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-10-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-21📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-10-16➖DOWNER, Christine Winifred resignedsecretary
- 2000-01-10🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 1999-10-14🏢Company incorporatedAs A14 NFB LIMITED
- 1999-10-14➕DOWNER, Simon appointeddirector
- 1999-10-14➕DOWNER, Christine Winifred appointedsecretary
- 1999-10-14➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-10-14➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-10-14➕DOWNER, Eric Roger appointeddirector
Owner dependency
85/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Simon Downer Individual · British · DOB 12/1970 · age 56 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Eric Roger Downerceased 31/03/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A F SWITCHGEAR LIMITED→ 01179371 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 51y | — | — |
| A G CARBON LIMITED→ 09668995 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AAFIYA SCENTS LTD→ 12413434 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABBEY INTERIORS HOME IMPROVEMENTS LTD→ 13251757 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABIELMO LIMITED→ 07842030 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ACCESS SERVICE AND REPAIR LIMITED→ 06658298 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ACORN CONCEPTUAL TEXTILES LTD→ 05382506 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ACORN HANDLING LIMITED→ 02586235 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ACORN SIGNS & ENGRAVING LIMITED→ 03723475 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ADAM HAULAGE SERVICES LTD→ 11147449 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADAMS AGILITY EQUIPMENT LTD→ 17088499 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADAPTTECH MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 04063338 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1999-10-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC18129 — SIC 18129
Registered office
Unit 1 Forest Court
Gamble Street
Nottingham
NG7 4EX
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-28
Last: 2025-10-14
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
DOWNER, Simon→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 1999-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOWNER, Christine Winifred→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-10-14 · resigned 2017-10-16
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-10-14 · resigned 1999-10-14
DOWNER, Eric Roger→
Resigneddirector · ~84y · appointed 1999-10-14 · resigned 2021-03-31
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 10/01/2000 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (75 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-30
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-10-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-10-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-10-21
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-10-21