APCO CONTRACTS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
05032206 · ltd · incorporated 2004-02-02
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
£1
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
57 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£1
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£1£1£1Oct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£1£1
Debtors£1£1
Net assets£1£1

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
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-18
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  2. 2026-02-18
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-03-01
    ➕
    SKILLING, James appointed
    director
  5. 2025-03-01
    ➕
    SKILLING, Matthew appointed
    director
  6. 2024-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-09-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2015-09-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2004-02-04
    ➖
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  19. 2004-02-04
    ➖
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  20. 2004-02-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As APCO CONTRACTS LIMITED
  21. 2004-02-02
    ➕
    SKILLING, Andrew John appointed
    secretary
  22. 2004-02-02
    ➕
    SKILLING, Andrew John appointed
    director
  23. 2004-02-02
    ➕
    SKILLING, Kevin appointed
    director
  24. 2004-02-02
    ➕
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2004-02-02
    ➕
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 82 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

40/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — SKILLING, James (same surname) appointed 2025-03-01. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 82 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew John Skilling
Individual · British · DOB 11/1944 · age 82
75–100%
—75-100% shares02/02/2017

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 · CO postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AERO RENTALS LTD→
10609887 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
ALYMAIN ENTERPRISES LIMITED→
15766106 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AMOBOX LTD→
11885539 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————7y——
ANGLIAN TIMBER LIMITED→
02229092 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
————38y——
AOB-CUSTOM KICKS LIMITED→
14256716 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
APC COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS LTD→
09473803 · est 2015
———911y——
AQUASEI LTD→
15950913 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ARCHER CARPENTRY & RENOVATIONS LTD→
14279709 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
ARCHITECTURAL STEEL FABRICATIONS LTD→
07683988 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
ARMSTRONG INK LIMITED→
10200714 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
AROMATHERAPET LTD→
16408114 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ARV SERVICES LTD→
10100203 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
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
Incorporated2004-02-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

Ground Floor Southway House
29 Southway
Colchester
Essex
CO2 7BA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-16
Last: 2026-02-02

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

SKILLING, Andrew John→
secretary · appointed 2004-02-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SKILLING, Andrew John→
director · ~82y · appointed 2004-02-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SKILLING, James→
director · ~41y · appointed 2025-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SKILLING, Kevin→
director · ~51y · appointed 2004-02-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SKILLING, Matthew→
director · ~45y · appointed 2025-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-02-02 · resigned 2004-02-04
Resigned
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-02-02 · resigned 2004-02-04
Resigned

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

Recent filings (57 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-24
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-02-18
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-13