A1 WELDING EQUIPMENT LTD
💤Zombieactive
05043407 · ltd · incorporated 2004-02-13
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£279.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of other machinery and equipment
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -43% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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 (2 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
66 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £279,875
Net assets shrinking
Down £24,104 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 43% YoY
Cash YoY
-43%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£102k
↓ 43% YoY
Net Worth
£280k
↓ 7.9% YoY
Current Assets
£383k
↓ 3.2% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £286.0k | £306.4k |
| Current assets | £382.7k | £395.4k |
| Cash | £102.1k | £179.3k |
| Debtors | £230.6k | £166.1k |
| Net assets | £279.9k | £304.0k |
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
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-03📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-05-07➕BENNETT, Neil appointeddirector
- 2008-05-07➖TORPEY, John Mark resigneddirector
- 2007-10-05➖ROBINSON, David resigneddirector
- 2007-10-05➕TORPEY, John Mark appointeddirector
- 2006-02-26➕HOWARD, Michelle appointedsecretary
- 2006-02-26➖DICKSON, Barry Stephen resignedsecretary
- 2006-02-25➖HALL, Craig resigneddirector
- 2006-02-25➕ROBINSON, David appointeddirector
- 2004-05-07➖BENNETT, Neil resigneddirector
- 2004-05-07➕HALL, Craig appointeddirector
- 2004-02-13🏢Company incorporatedAs A1 WELDING EQUIPMENT LTD
- 2004-02-13➕DICKSON, Barry Stephen appointedsecretary
- 2004-02-13➕BENNETT, Neil appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
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 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Neil Bennett Individual · British · DOB 07/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Wholesale & distribution · OL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883 DRINKS LTD→ 13131291 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 246 BRANDS LTD→ 17100527 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3H TRADING LTD→ 15962770 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 5 GUJJAR LTD→ 16143459 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 52PIVOT GROUP LIMITED→ 12433144 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A ABBAS MEAT LTD→ 15815668 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A D A FABRICS LTD→ 15272380 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A.C.S. TEXTILES LIMITED→ 03208920 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| A2Z RECYCLING LTD→ 13020278 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A2Z WHOLESALE & DISTRIBUTIONS LTD→ 14795672 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AA WHOLESALE AND RETAIL LTD→ 10979122 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AAB SUPPLY SYSTEM LIMITED→ 17046764 · est 2026 · 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.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2004-02-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46690 — Wholesale of other machinery and equipment
Registered office
43 High Street
Uppermill
Oldham
OL3 6HS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-27
Last: 2026-02-13
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
Active
BENNETT, Neil→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2008-05-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DICKSON, Barry Stephen→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-02-13 · resigned 2006-02-26
BENNETT, Neil→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2004-02-13 · resigned 2004-05-07
HALL, Craig→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2004-05-07 · resigned 2006-02-25
ROBINSON, David→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2006-02-25 · resigned 2007-10-05
TORPEY, John Mark→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 2007-10-05 · resigned 2008-05-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (66 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-11
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-11
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-22