A. GROOM ENGINEERING LTD
💤Zombieactive
05753277 · ltd · incorporated 2006-03-23
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£1.77M
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Technical testing and analysis
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 19.2y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 19.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
58 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £1,773,552
Cash YoY
+17%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£607k
↑ 17% YoY
Net Worth
£1.8m
↑ 1.2% YoY
Current Assets
£744k
↓ 4.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.96M | £2.00M |
| Current assets | £744.3k | £776.0k |
| Cash | £606.8k | £517.2k |
| Debtors | £90.7k | £140.3k |
| Net assets | £1.77M | £1.75M |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-31📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2023-07-27📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2023-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-10-24📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-10-19🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2018-10-08📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-10-08🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2018-09-27📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2018-09-27🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2018-06-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2007-05-03🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2006-03-23🏢Company incorporatedAs A. GROOM ENGINEERING LTD
- 2006-03-23➕GROOM, Emma Louise appointedsecretary
- 2006-03-23➕GROOM, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2006-03-23➕UK SECRETARIES LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2006-03-23➖UK SECRETARIES LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2006-03-23➕UK DIRECTORS LTD appointedcorporate-director
- 2006-03-23➖UK DIRECTORS LTD resignedcorporate-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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GROOM" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- 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
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 Andrew Groom Individual · British · DOB 03/1973 · age 53 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/07/2016 |
Mrs Emma Groom Individual · British · DOB 12/1970 · age 56 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/07/2016 |
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 · Professional services · B postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING LTD→ 09696804 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AL MASOOD CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 15431139 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALCOCK ARCHITECTURE LTD→ 16926224 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALCS CONSULTANCY LTD→ 14442378 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER MOR & ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 13214189 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALF ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED→ 14983313 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALICE KINDER LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 14521075 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALIGN ARCHITECTURE LIMITED→ 08981288 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ALIGN WORKFORCE LIMITED→ 16765465 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALIVE AUDIO LIMITED→ 12123400 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALL SEASON CAR HIRE LTD→ 14333921 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALL SET PAY LIMITED→ 16136967 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2006-03-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71200 — Technical testing and analysis
Registered office
57 A, B And C Heming Road
Washfor Industrial Estate
Redditch
B98 0DH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-06
Last: 2026-03-23
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
GROOM, Emma Louise→
Activesecretary · appointed 2006-03-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GROOM, Andrew→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2006-03-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
UK SECRETARIES LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2006-03-23 · resigned 2006-03-23
UK DIRECTORS LTD→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2006-03-23 · resigned 2006-03-23
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 19/10/2018 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 08/10/2018 | — | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 03/05/2007 | 27/09/2018 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (58 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-04
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-07-31
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-07-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-06