DAVE BLAND ENGINEERING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05111134 · ltd · incorporated 2004-04-26
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 29201
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 21.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: low (54/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-26📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-04-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2005-05-09🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2004-05-13➕BLAND, Cheryl appointedsecretary
- 2004-05-13➕BLAND, David William appointeddirector
- 2004-05-13➖SPEIGHT, Nicola Jane resignedsecretary
- 2004-05-13➖LATHAM, Alistair Ian Manson resigneddirector
- 2004-04-26🏢Company incorporatedAs DAVE BLAND ENGINEERING LIMITED
- 2004-04-26➕SPEIGHT, Nicola Jane appointedsecretary
- 2004-04-26➕LATHAM, Alistair Ian Manson appointeddirector
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BLAND" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David William Bland Individual · British · DOB 01/1962 · age 64 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 01/10/2016 |
Mrs Cheryl Bland Individual · English · DOB 04/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 26/04/2022 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · YO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRANK TEC LTD→ 11418882 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| CROFT LOGS LTD→ 14267694 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CROWN CHAINS LIMITED→ 10763375 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| D & G FABRICATIONS LTD→ 11569815 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| D A OLDFIELD LIMITED→ 03178882 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| D B ENGINEERING (RIPON) LIMITED→ 05551591 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| D C POWER SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 04204008 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| D H WRIGHT JOINERY LIMITED→ 06244425 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| D&A GIFTS LTD→ 15670714 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DAKK ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 08683029 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| DALES WINDOWS LIMITED→ 04954016 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| DALLOL HUMBER LIMITED→ 13242626 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-04-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC29201 — SIC 29201
Registered office
Full Sutton Industrial Estate
Stamford Bridge
York
East Riding Of Yorkshire
YO41 1HS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-28
Last: 2026-04-14
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
BLAND, David William→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2004-05-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SPEIGHT, Nicola Jane→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-04-26 · resigned 2004-05-13
LATHAM, Alistair Ian Manson→
Resigneddirector · ~55y · appointed 2004-04-26 · resigned 2004-05-13
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 09/05/2005 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (61 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-03
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-04-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-09