A. ASHTON LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04729215 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-10

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

£5.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 33200

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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 (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

61 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

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 · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £5,124

Net assets shrinking

Down £3,309 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£5k

↓ 39% YoY

Current Assets

£9k

↑ 182% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-04-30	2024-04-30
Total assets	£5.1k	£8.4k
Current assets	£8.5k	£3.0k
Net assets	£5.1k	£8.4k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-01-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-22
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-04
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-01-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-03-31
➖
MASCALL, Darren Charles resigned
secretary
2003-04-10
🏢
Company incorporated
As A. ASHTON LIMITED
2003-04-10
➕
ASHTON, Andrew Louis appointed
director
2003-04-10
➕
MASCALL, Darren Charles appointed
secretary
2003-04-10
➕
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-04-10
➖
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-04-10
➕
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2003-04-10
➖
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ASHTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 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

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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Andrew Louis Ashton Individual · British · DOB 10/1965 · age 61	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	07/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · CM postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A H ELECTRICAL & EV SERVICES LTD→ 13741120 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
A J L ELECTRICAL SALES LIMITED→ 04581848 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
ACE WELDING AND POWDER COATING SERVICES LIMITED→ 10033653 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
ACK ENGINEERING LTD→ 08740833 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
ACONDA INDUSTRIAL CARRIERS LIMITED→ 10705828 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ACS CARPENTRY LTD→ 16683891 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ACTION HANDLING EQUIPMENT LIMITED→ 00985730 · est 1970 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	55y	—	—
AD FABRICATION LIMITED→ 02587848 · est 1991 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	35y	—	—
AD TOTAL FAB LTD→ 13164328 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AD-TEK FINISHINGS LIMITED→ 04973242 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
AD-TEK PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 04090750 · est 2000 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
ADAS.DESIGN LTD→ 16625368 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2003-04-10

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC33200 — SIC 33200

Registered office

46 Kingsland

Harlow

Essex

CM18 6XL

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-06-06

Last: 2026-05-23

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

ASHTON, Andrew Louis→

director · ~61y · appointed 2003-04-10

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MASCALL, Darren Charles→

secretary · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2014-03-31

Resigned

SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2003-04-10

Resigned

CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2003-04-10

Resigned

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