ASHFORD REFRIGERATION SERVICES LTD

🌳Matureactive

04046768 · ltd · incorporated 2000-08-03

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

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Feb 2025

Net worth

£905.4k

book net assets

Opportunity

81/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 35300

Sector: Electricity, gas & energy

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

8 officers (6 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

10 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

80 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

81/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £905,417

Cash YoY

+2%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£905k

↑ 1.7% YoY

Net Worth

£905k

↑ 23% YoY

Current Assets

£1.0m

↑ 13% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-02-28	2024-02-28
Total assets	£905.4k	£767.2k
Current assets	£1.01M	£895.8k
Cash	£904.5k	£889.8k
Net assets	£905.4k	£737.0k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 6 officers
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2026-03-12
➕
BILLINGHAM, Caryn appointed
director
2026-03-12
➕
BILLINGHAM, Matthew appointed
director
2026-03-12
➕
SHIELDS, William appointed
director
2026-03-12
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2026-03-12
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-12
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-12
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-12
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-12
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-12-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-12
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-18
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-08-18
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-08-18
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-08-18
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-11-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2009-07-01
➕
BILLINGHAM, Jamie appointed
director
2000-08-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As ASHFORD REFRIGERATION SERVICES LTD
2000-08-03
➕
BILLINGHAM, Caryn appointed
secretary
2000-08-03
➕
BILLINGHAM, Martyn appointed
director
2000-08-03
➕
CENTRAL SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2000-08-03
➖
CENTRAL SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2000-08-03
➕
CENTRAL DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2000-08-03
➖
CENTRAL DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-director

Owner dependency

73/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

30/100

Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS

primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — BILLINGHAM, Matthew (same surname) appointed 2026-03-12. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Martyn Billingham Individual · British · DOB 06/1958 · age 68	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	02/08/2016

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 · Energy & utilities · DY postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A.B.H. METALS LIMITED→ 05752757 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
A.S.A.P. RECOVERY LIMITED→ 03579338 · est 1998 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	27y	—	—
A&A ENVIRO SKIPS LTD→ 15927123 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
A&A WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD→ 16436623 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ADA & EMA LEO BEAM LIMITED→ 16416708 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AJH WASTE MANAGEMENT & LOGISTICS LIMITED→ 15884994 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ALACOR ELECTRICAL LTD→ 11595226 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ALLSTAR ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED→ 11318400 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
AQUARIUS LIMITED→ 06760296 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
ASH REMEDIATION MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 06906549 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
AVISTA OIL SERVICES (UK) LTD→ 07239275 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—
BEVLYN LIMITED→ 03035086 · est 1995 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	—	—

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

Incorporated2000-08-03

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC35300 — SIC 35300

Registered office

Unit 2 First Floor Bridgnorth Road

Wollaston

Stourbridge

DY8 3QG

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-11-30

Last made up to: 2025-02-28

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-26

Last: 2026-03-12