ADC ENGINEERING LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
05759639 · ltd · incorporated 2006-03-28
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£334
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
50 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £334
Net assets shrinking
Down £199 YoY
Cash YoY
-5%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£19k
↓ 4.9% YoY
Net Worth
£334
↓ 37% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↑ 36% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£11k£17k£23k£28kMar 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£334£533
Current assets£28.3k£20.8k
Cash£18.7k£19.7k
Debtors£9.6k£1.2k
Net assets£334£533

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-12-13
    ➕
    HOLBROOK, Suzanne appointed
    director
  11. 2016-12-13
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  12. 2016-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-04-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-04-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2006-04-06
    ➕
    HOLBROOK, Suzanne appointed
    secretary
  18. 2006-04-06
    ➕
    HOLBROOK, Richard James appointed
    director
  19. 2006-03-29
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2006-03-29
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  21. 2006-03-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADC ENGINEERING LIMITED
  22. 2006-03-28
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2006-03-28
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

66/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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

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 Richard James Holbrook
Individual · British · DOB 08/1974 · age 52
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

6 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
Incorporated2006-03-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71122 — Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities

Registered office

48 Banastre Drive
Newton-Le-Willows
Merseyside
WA12 8BE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-11
Last: 2026-03-28

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

HOLBROOK, Suzanne→
secretary · appointed 2006-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOLBROOK, Richard James→
director · ~52y · appointed 2006-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOLBROOK, Suzanne→
director · ~51y · appointed 2016-12-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-03-28 · resigned 2006-03-29
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-03-28 · resigned 2006-03-29
Resigned

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

Recent filings (50 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-30