A1 CONTROLS (NEWARK) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05722655 · ltd · incorporated 2006-02-27
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
£7.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Electrical installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
58 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
82
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 £7,850
Cash YoY
+514%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£25k
↑ 514% YoY
Net Worth
£8k
↑ 78400% YoY
Current Assets
£25k
↑ 196% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£5k£10k£15k£20k£25kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£8.0k£69
Current assets£25.2k£8.5k
Cash£25.2k£4.1k
Debtors—£4.4k
Net assets£7.8k£10

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-07-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2024-07-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-08-06
    ➖
    GARTHWAITE-TUNNARD, Emilie Rose resigned
    secretary
  7. 2022-08-06
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  8. 2022-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-08-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-03-01
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  11. 2020-07-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-09-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2018-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2006-03-01
    ➕
    GARTHWAITE, Brian appointed
    director
  17. 2006-03-01
    ➕
    GARTHWAITE-TUNNARD, Emilie Rose appointed
    secretary
  18. 2006-03-01
    ➖
    HARRISON, Irene Lesley resigned
    secretary
  19. 2006-03-01
    ➖
    BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH & REPORTING LTD resigned
    corporate-director
  20. 2006-02-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A1 CONTROLS (NEWARK) LIMITED
  21. 2006-02-27
    ➕
    HARRISON, Irene Lesley appointed
    secretary
  22. 2006-02-27
    ➕
    BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH & REPORTING LTD appointed
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 65. 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 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Brian Garthwaite
Individual · English · DOB 06/1961 · age 65
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2006-02-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43210 — Electrical installation

Registered office

27 South End
Collingham
Newark
NG23 7LL
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-14
Last: 2026-02-28

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

GARTHWAITE, Brian→
director · ~65y · appointed 2006-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GARTHWAITE-TUNNARD, Emilie Rose→
secretary · appointed 2006-03-01 · resigned 2022-08-06
Resigned
HARRISON, Irene Lesley→
secretary · appointed 2006-02-27 · resigned 2006-03-01
Resigned
BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH & REPORTING LTD→
corporate-director · appointed 2006-02-27 · resigned 2006-03-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (58 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-01