CUTLASS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06356294 · ltd · incorporated 2007-08-30
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£751.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 25990SIC 25990
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (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).
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, 2 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 (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
47 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £751,917
Cash YoY
+73%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£406k
↑ 73% YoY
Net Worth
£752k
↑ 17% YoY
Current Assets
£556k
↑ 39% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £751.9k | £640.7k |
| Current assets | £555.9k | £399.9k |
| Cash | £405.6k | £233.9k |
| Debtors | £150.3k | £166.0k |
| Net assets | £751.9k | £640.7k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-30📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-08-30📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-04-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-04-16➖LETHBRIDGE, Ann resigneddirector
- 2017-04-16➖SEARLE, William James resigneddirector
- 2017-02-08📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2012-09-28➕CHAPPELL, Donna Leanne appointedsecretary
- 2012-09-28➖JORDAN COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2012-06-01➕TANNER, Adam Mark appointeddirector
- 2007-08-30🏢Company incorporatedAs CUTLASS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LIMITED
- 2007-08-30➕JORDAN COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2007-08-30➕LETHBRIDGE, Ann appointeddirector
- 2007-08-30➕SEARLE, William James appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Adam Mark Tanner Individual · British · DOB 10/1979 · age 47 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 13/04/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr William James Searleceased 13/04/2017· significant influence
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 · Manufacturing · PL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORNWALL SCALE & EQUIPMENT LTD→ 05881445 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| COTTAGE HEATING LIMITED→ 06141245 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| CRAFTEDSPOILS LTD→ 16554953 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CRUMB RUBBER LTD.→ 04465965 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| CTE SW LTD→ 16465586 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CUSTOM CREATIVE PLYMOUTH LTD→ 17062594 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CUSTOM REWORX LIMITED→ 09337000 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| CUSTOM WELDING LIMITED→ 15570144 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CYRIAC TOR LIMITED→ 03368211 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| D&C RENOVATIONS SW LTD→ 15730765 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DAFTEN DIE-CASTING LIMITED→ 00679033 · est 1960 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | — | — |
| DAKOTA SHINE (UK) LIMITED→ 05193053 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2007-08-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25110 — Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Registered office
Unit 10 Bell Park Industrial Estate
Bell Close Plympton
Plymouth
Devon
PL7 4TA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-13
Last: 2025-08-30
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
CHAPPELL, Donna Leanne→
Activesecretary · appointed 2012-09-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TANNER, Adam Mark→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2012-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JORDAN COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2007-08-30 · resigned 2012-09-28
LETHBRIDGE, Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 2007-08-30 · resigned 2017-04-16
SEARLE, William James→
Resigneddirector · ~81y · appointed 2007-08-30 · resigned 2017-04-16
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (47 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-05-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-02-08