ACTIVE ENGINEERING (GB) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04813906 · ltd · incorporated 2003-06-27
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2025
Net worth
£75.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -69% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £75,201
Net assets shrinking
Down £27,240 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 69% YoY
Cash YoY
-69%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£36k
↓ 69% YoY
Net Worth
£75k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Assets
£143k
↓ 33% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-11-30 | 2024-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £89.1k | £125.9k |
| Current assets | £142.6k | £211.4k |
| Cash | £35.9k | £116.9k |
| Debtors | £105.2k | £93.1k |
| Net assets | £75.2k | £102.4k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-14📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-07-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-08-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-07-21➕DARVILL, Stephen appointedsecretary
- 2003-07-21➕DARVILL, Stephen appointeddirector
- 2003-07-21➕PAINE, Gary Allen appointeddirector
- 2003-07-21➖CF CLIENT SECRETARY LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-07-21➖CF CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD resignedcorporate-director
- 2003-06-27🏢Company incorporatedAs ACTIVE ENGINEERING (GB) LIMITED
- 2003-06-27➕CF CLIENT SECRETARY LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-06-27➕CF CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD appointedcorporate-director
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +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
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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
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 Gary Allen Paine Individual · British · DOB 06/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 12/07/2017 |
Mr Stephen Darvill Individual · British · DOB 10/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 12/07/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22OVERSEVEN LTD→ 16956013 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3D PRINTING ACADEMY LTD→ 14919381 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A J B ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ 04506799 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| AARTIST JEWELLERY LTD→ 15095427 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACCOKG PLC→ 15934101 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACE COLD LTD→ 15221780 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADAM'S REPAIRS AND SUPPLY LTD→ 16915361 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADDY TRADERS LTD→ 16814041 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADORN STONEWARE LTD→ 06278544 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ADVANCED FABRICATIONS (UK) LTD→ 10895008 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADVANCED FABRICATIONS POYLE LIMITED→ 01707393 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 43y | — | — |
| ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL REPAIR GROUP LTD→ 16425236 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2003-06-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990
Registered office
Wilton Farm, Marlow Road
Little Marlow
Bucks
SL7 3RR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-08-31
Last made up to: 2025-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-11
Last: 2025-07-28
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
Active
DARVILL, Stephen→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2003-07-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PAINE, Gary Allen→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2003-07-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CF CLIENT SECRETARY LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2003-06-27 · resigned 2003-07-21
CF CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2003-06-27 · resigned 2003-07-21
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (56 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-08-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-03-21