AS-TEC CHEMICALS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03973050 · ltd · incorporated 2000-04-14
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 18.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
£4.15M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 21200
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 76-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 76). 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 18.5y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
75 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £4,151,667
Cash YoY
+6%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£2.7m
↑ 6.5% YoY
Net Worth
£4.2m
↑ 19% YoY
Current Assets
£4.6m
↑ 28% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£920k£1.8m£2.8m£3.7m£4.6mOct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Total assets£4.16M£3.50M
Current assets£4.60M£3.59M
Cash£2.74M£2.57M
Debtors£1.86M£1.02M
Net assets£4.15M£3.49M

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2024-08-17
    ➖
    MITCHELL, Marjorie resigned
    director
  5. 2023-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-05-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-06-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-04-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2012-01-23
    ➕
    HARRIS, Mary Catherine appointed
    director
  18. 2012-01-23
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Marjorie appointed
    director
  19. 2008-02-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC T/a Yorkshire Bank
  20. 2000-04-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AS-TEC CHEMICALS LIMITED
  21. 2000-04-14
    ➕
    HARRIS, Simon Digby appointed
    secretary
  22. 2000-04-14
    ➕
    HARRIS, Simon Digby appointed
    director
  23. 2000-04-14
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Andrew John appointed
    director
  24. 2000-04-14
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2000-04-14
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2000-04-14
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2000-04-14
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 76 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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
Mr Simon Digby Harris
Individual · British · DOB 09/1955 · age 71
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mr Andrew John Mitchell
Individual · British · DOB 06/1950 · age 76
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · PR postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ALLTEX LIMITED→
02912886 · est 1994 · no financials extracted
————32y——
AP CARAVAN SERVICES LIMITED→
07985686 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————14y——
AQUAJET MACHINING SYSTEMS LIMITED→
03125420 · est 1995 · no financials extracted
————30y——
AVCO AUDIO VISUAL LIMITED→
06909405 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————16y——
AWL ENGINEERING LIMITED→
05045073 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
————22y——
B HOLMAN LTD→
15857551 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BARON'S (FYLDE COAST SUPPLIES) LIMITED→
02571166 · est 1991 · no financials extracted
————35y——
BASE METALWORK LIMITED→
06665940 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————17y——
BATES' BESPOKE LTD→
14633572 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
BELL,SONS & CO.(DRUGGISTS)LIMITED→
00351951 · est 1939 · no financials extracted
————87y——
BENTALL ROWLANDS SILO STORAGE LIMITED→
12128889 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
BERRY BOX LTD→
13566484 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
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
Incorporated2000-04-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC21200 — SIC 21200

Registered office

ASTEC HOUSE
Unit 5e Barnfield Way Millenium City Park
Preston
Lancashire
PR2 5DB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last: 2025-08-17

Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)

HARRIS, Simon Digby→
secretary · appointed 2000-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARRIS, Mary Catherine→
director · ~69y · appointed 2012-01-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARRIS, Simon Digby→
director · ~71y · appointed 2000-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MITCHELL, Andrew John→
director · ~76y · appointed 2000-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-04-14 · resigned 2000-04-14
Resigned
MITCHELL, Marjorie→
director · ~77y · appointed 2012-01-23 · resigned 2024-08-17
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-04-14 · resigned 2000-04-14
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
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC T/a Yorkshire Bank
Legal mortgage1 property13/02/2008—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (75 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-02-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-14