ADVANCED FIRE ENGINEERING LTD

💤Zombieactive
06167524 · ltd · incorporated 2007-03-19
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
£73.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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 (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
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
50 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £73,895

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£74k
↑ 60% YoY
Current Assets
£110k
↑ 46% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£22k£44k£66k£88k£110kJan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2026-01-312025-01-31
Total assets£73.9k£50.4k
Current assets£110.5k£75.6k
Net assets£73.9k£46.2k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
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 (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-23
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2022-10-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-10-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-10-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2016-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-05-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2008-01-08
    ➖
    JAGGAR & CO SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  17. 2008-01-08
    ➖
    JAGGAR, Michael Charles resigned
    director
  18. 2007-12-31
    ➕
    GRATWICK SARLL, Kathryn Ann appointed
    secretary
  19. 2007-12-31
    ➕
    GRATWICK SARLL, James Alan Peter appointed
    director
  20. 2007-03-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADVANCED FIRE ENGINEERING LTD
  21. 2007-03-19
    ➕
    JAGGAR & CO SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2007-03-19
    ➕
    JAGGAR, Michael Charles appointed
    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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
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 69. 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 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Alan Peter Gratwick Sarll
Individual · British · DOB 09/1957 · age 69
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Kathryn Gratwick Sarll
Individual · British · DOB 08/1956 · age 70
25–50%
—25-50% 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 →
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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
Incorporated2007-03-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Registered office

146 Nevill Road
Hove
BN3 7QB
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-02
Last: 2026-03-19

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

GRATWICK SARLL, Kathryn Ann→
secretary · appointed 2007-12-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRATWICK SARLL, James Alan Peter→
director · ~69y · appointed 2007-12-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JAGGAR & CO SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2007-03-19 · resigned 2008-01-08
Resigned
JAGGAR, Michael Charles→
director · ~71y · appointed 2007-03-19 · resigned 2008-01-08
Resigned

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

Recent filings (50 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-18