AK STAINLESS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04863995 · ltd · incorporated 2003-08-12
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£8.81M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 24520
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 21.5y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 21.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
83 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £8,806,635

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£3.8m
Net Worth
£8.8m
Current Assets
£6.5m
Current Liabilities
—
£0£1.8m£3.5m£5.3m£7.0m£8.8mAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£8.94M—
Current assets£6.53M—
Cash£3.80M—
Debtors£2.58M—
Net assets£8.81M—
Average employees—2700

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 (38 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-11-09
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  6. 2022-11-09
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  7. 2022-11-09
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  8. 2022-11-09
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  9. 2022-11-09
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #6
  10. 2022-11-09
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  11. 2022-11-09
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  12. 2022-11-09
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  13. 2022-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-08-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2021-08-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2021-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-08-26
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  18. 2020-08-26
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  19. 2020-08-24
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  20. 2020-08-24
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  21. 2020-05-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2019-04-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2013-09-27
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  24. 2013-08-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  25. 2013-07-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  26. 2007-11-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  27. 2007-11-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  28. 2007-10-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  29. 2007-09-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  30. 2007-05-01
    ➕
    BARON, Karen Mary appointed
    director
  31. 2004-12-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  32. 2003-08-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AK STAINLESS LIMITED
  33. 2003-08-12
    ➕
    BARON, Karen Mary appointed
    secretary
  34. 2003-08-12
    ➕
    BARON, Anthony James appointed
    director
  35. 2003-08-12
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  36. 2003-08-12
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  37. 2003-08-12
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  38. 2003-08-12
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Anthony James Baron
Individual · British · DOB 08/1960 · age 66
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Karen Mary Baron
Individual · British · DOB 05/1961 · age 65
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mrs Karen Mary Baronceased 11/08/2020· 25-50% shares · firm interest
  • Mr Anthony James Baronceased 11/08/2020· 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 →

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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
Incorporated2003-08-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC24520 — SIC 24520

Registered office

Unit 481 Ranglet Road
Walton Summit Centre
Bamber Bridge
Preston
PR5 8AR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-26
Last: 2025-08-12

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

BARON, Karen Mary→
secretary · appointed 2003-08-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARON, Anthony James→
director · ~66y · appointed 2003-08-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARON, Karen Mary→
director · ~65y · appointed 2007-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-08-12 · resigned 2003-08-12
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-08-12 · resigned 2003-08-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

6
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property30/08/201309/11/2022
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property22/07/201309/11/2022
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Mortgage1 property12/11/200709/11/2022
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property02/10/200709/11/2022
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property18/09/200727/09/2013
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Debenture1 property09/12/200410/11/2007

Recent filings (83 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-29
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-11-09
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-11-09
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-11-09
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-11-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-08-13