BALLARD ENGINEERING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03860940 · ltd · incorporated 1999-10-18
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
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 43910Roofing activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong 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 25.2y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 25.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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, 2 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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
82 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Average employees200200

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  6. 2023-03-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2022-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-02-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2019-06-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-11-10
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2009-11-16
    ➕
    OLIVER, Samantha appointed
    secretary
  17. 2009-11-16
    ➖
    MIDLANDS SECRETARIAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  18. 2001-11-08
    ➕
    OLIVER, Christian James appointed
    director
  19. 2001-11-08
    ➖
    OLIVER, Maureen resigned
    director
  20. 2001-05-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
  21. 1999-10-19
    ➖
    ALLSOPP, Nicholas James resigned
    director
  22. 1999-10-19
    ➕
    OLIVER, Maureen appointed
    director
  23. 1999-10-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BALLARD ENGINEERING LIMITED
  24. 1999-10-18
    ➕
    MIDLANDS SECRETARIAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 1999-10-18
    ➕
    ALLSOPP, Nicholas James appointed
    director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong 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 25 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

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 Samantha Oliver
Individual · British · DOB 11/1975 · age 51
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting15/03/2023
Mr Christian James Oliver
Individual · British · DOB 01/1974 · age 52
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016

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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————52y——
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09311024 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
————11y——
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06437348 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
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————16y——
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BAV CRUSHERS LIMITED→
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BEACON DESIGN & ENGINEERING LIMITED→
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BEMMS LIMITED→
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BENGAL WELDING LIMITED→
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————1y——
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
Incorporated1999-10-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25110 — Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures

Registered office

Studio 25 The Mill Curborough Hall Farm
Countryside Centre Watery Lane
Lichfield
Staffordshire
WS13 8ES

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-01
Last: 2025-10-18

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

OLIVER, Samantha→
secretary · appointed 2009-11-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OLIVER, Christian James→
director · ~52y · appointed 2001-11-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MIDLANDS SECRETARIAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1999-10-18 · resigned 2009-11-16
Resigned
ALLSOPP, Nicholas James→
director · ~68y · appointed 1999-10-18 · resigned 1999-10-19
Resigned
OLIVER, Maureen→
director · ~79y · appointed 1999-10-19 · resigned 2001-11-08
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
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
Debenture deed1 property15/05/2001—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (82 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-03-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-30