A.J.AUTOMATIC MACHINE CO.LTD
💤Zombieactive
04673787 · ltd · incorporated 2003-02-21
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£317.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33190
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 8.2y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 8.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · 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, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
73 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £317,160
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£317k
↑ 8.5% YoY
Current Assets
£27k
↑ 57% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £726.7k | £621.3k |
| Current assets | £27.4k | £17.5k |
| Net assets | £317.2k | £292.3k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-19📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2024-11-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-11-19📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-11-19📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-11-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-11-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-15📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2023-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-03📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-08-03📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-07-31🔒Charge registered #3Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2020-07-31🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2020-01-01➕FRANCOMBE, Sarah appointedsecretary
- 2020-01-01➖FRANCOMBE, Carol resignedsecretary
- 2020-01-01➖FRANCOMBE, Carol resigneddirector
- 2019-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-08🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Touchtunes UK LTD
- 2015-10-21➖FRANCOMBE, Keith James resigneddirector
- 2006-07-25➖PARKER, Alexander Ian resigneddirector
- 2006-04-01➕FRANCOMBE, Andrew James appointeddirector
- 2006-04-01➕PARKER, Alexander Ian appointeddirector
- 2003-02-21🏢Company incorporatedAs A.J.AUTOMATIC MACHINE CO.LTD
- 2003-02-21➕FRANCOMBE, Carol appointedsecretary
- 2003-02-21➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-02-21➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-02-21➕FRANCOMBE, Carol appointeddirector
- 2003-02-21➕FRANCOMBE, Keith James appointeddirector
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew James Francombe Individual · British · DOB 10/1980 · age 46 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 01/01/2020 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Carol Francombeceased 01/01/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · BS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A I STONE SERVICES LTD→ 15005202 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A.B.C. (ENAMELLING & FABRICATIONS) LIMITED→ 01291149 · est 1976 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 49y | — | — |
| A.J. GEORGE REFRIGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING LIMITED→ 02503428 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ACTUATED LIMITED→ 06648949 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ADDASU ENGINEERING LTD→ 16764198 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADHESIVE DESIGN LIMITED→ 07202910 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ADJUSTABAIL LIMITED→ 08939138 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ADROITPRINT LIMITED→ 13494377 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADVANCED DIAMONDX LTD→ 11142203 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES INC LTD→ 13774780 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADVANTIS CONTROL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 08214691 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AEDAPT LTD→ 08405723 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-02-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33190 — SIC 33190
Registered office
Unit 5 Glencoe Business Park, Warne Road
Weston-Super-Mare
BS23 3TS
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-07
Last: 2026-02-21
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
Active
FRANCOMBE, Andrew James→
Activedirector · ~46y · appointed 2006-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FRANCOMBE, Carol→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2020-01-01
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2003-02-21
FRANCOMBE, Carol→
Resigneddirector · ~78y · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2020-01-01
FRANCOMBE, Keith James→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 2003-02-21 · resigned 2015-10-21
PARKER, Alexander Ian→
Resigneddirector · ~45y · appointed 2006-04-01 · resigned 2006-07-25
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 31/07/2020 | — | |
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 31/07/2020 | — | |
| outstanding | Touchtunes UK Touchtunes UK LTD | A registered charge | — | 08/03/2018 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (73 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-11-19
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-11-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-11-19
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-11-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-11-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-15
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2023-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-31