ANSCOMBE ENGINEERING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04949902 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-31
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. 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
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 400 |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-08-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-08-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-08-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-08-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-10-31🏢Company incorporatedAs ANSCOMBE ENGINEERING LIMITED
- 2003-10-31➕ANSCOMBE, Sarah Catherine appointedsecretary
- 2003-10-31➕ANSCOMBE, Anthony appointeddirector
- 2003-10-31➕ANSCOMBE, Sarah Catherine appointeddirector
- 2003-10-31➕OCS CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-10-31➖OCS CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-10-31➕OCS DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-10-31➖OCS DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ANSCOMBE" — 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.
- +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 candidateStrong 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
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 Anthony Anscombe Individual · British · DOB 09/1960 · age 66 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Sarah Catherine Anscombe Individual · British · DOB 10/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACE SPECIALIST SECURITY LTD→ 14798900 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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| AMELUL LIMITED→ 07265512 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
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| APPROVED CARE AND SUPPORT LIMITED→ 10438617 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| APSEC PROTECTION LTD→ 16606771 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AQUARIUS WINDOW CLEANING SERVICES LIMITED→ 06363241 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-10-31
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
41a Oakley Street
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY3 7JX
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-28
Last: 2025-08-14
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
ANSCOMBE, Sarah Catherine→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-10-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ANSCOMBE, Anthony→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-10-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ANSCOMBE, Sarah Catherine→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2003-10-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OCS CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-10-31 · resigned 2003-10-31
OCS DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-10-31 · resigned 2003-10-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (67 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-08-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-08-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-30