AUSTIN ENGINEERING (SHROPSHIRE) LTD
💤Zombieactive
04094087 · ltd · incorporated 2000-10-20
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 Feb 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28220
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (69/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 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
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2026-02-28 |
|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 |
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
5
filings
- • 3 accounts
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 3 accounts
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-28📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2026-04-21📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2026-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-17📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2026-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-11-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-05-17📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2022-05-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-05-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2000-10-24➕AUSTIN, Jill appointedsecretary
- 2000-10-24➕AUSTIN, Alfred Stephen appointeddirector
- 2000-10-24➖LEWIS, Lisa Jane resignedsecretary
- 2000-10-24➖STEWART, Ian Peter resigneddirector
- 2000-10-20🏢Company incorporatedAs AUSTIN ENGINEERING (SHROPSHIRE) LTD
- 2000-10-20➕LEWIS, Lisa Jane appointedsecretary
- 2000-10-20➕STEWART, Ian Peter appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "AUSTIN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alfred Stephen Austin Individual · British · DOB 01/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Jill Austin Individual · British · DOB 09/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ART BAGS LTD→ 15049160 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ASSURED EQUIPMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ 11153981 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ATHERTON BIKES LIMITED→ 11205194 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2000-10-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC28220 — SIC 28220
Registered office
Rock House Farm
Bausley
Crew Green
Nr. Shrewsbury
SY5 9BN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-11-30
Last made up to: 2026-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-15
Last: 2025-11-01
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
AUSTIN, Alfred Stephen→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2000-10-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LEWIS, Lisa Jane→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2000-10-20 · resigned 2000-10-24
STEWART, Ian Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2000-10-20 · resigned 2000-10-24
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (72 total)
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-04-28
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-17
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-17