AIRBORNE ENGINEERING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04205661 · ltd · incorporated 2001-04-25
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£131.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
65 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £131,574
Cash YoY
+183%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£176k
↑ 183% YoY
Net Worth
£132k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£297k
↑ 35% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£59k£119k£178k£238k£297kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£131.6k£118.4k
Current assets£297.5k£220.7k
Cash£176.2k£62.4k
Debtors£100.6k£146.6k
Net assets£131.6k£118.4k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-01-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-01-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-05-07
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2020-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-06-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2019-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-06-22
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2018-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-04-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2001-04-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AIRBORNE ENGINEERING LIMITED
  17. 2001-04-25
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Andrew Lennox appointed
    secretary
  18. 2001-04-25
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, James Lennox appointed
    director
  19. 2001-04-25
    ➕
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2001-04-25
    ➖
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2001-04-25
    ➕
    INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 2001-04-25
    ➖
    INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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 25 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Lennox Macfarlane
Individual · British · DOB 03/1973 · age 53
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2001-04-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

Office 135 Boston House Grove Business Park
Downsview Road
Wantage
OX12 9FF
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-09
Last: 2026-04-25

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MACFARLANE, Andrew Lennox→
secretary · appointed 2001-04-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACFARLANE, James Lennox→
director · ~53y · appointed 2001-04-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-04-25 · resigned 2001-04-25
Resigned
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-04-25 · resigned 2001-04-25
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (65 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-07
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-05-07