AAJ CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06404718 · ltd · incorporated 2007-10-19
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£320.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 81100
Sector: Administrative & support services
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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -72% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 11.2y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.2 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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
61 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 £320,781
Cash draining
Cash down 72% YoY
Cash YoY
-72%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£26k
↓ 72% YoY
Net Worth
£321k
↑ 4.5% YoY
Current Assets
£536k
↑ 30% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £350.3k | £363.2k |
| Current assets | £535.7k | £413.5k |
| Cash | £25.7k | £92.9k |
| Debtors | £364.2k | £320.6k |
| Net assets | £320.8k | £306.9k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-26📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-06-23📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-10-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-03-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-12-08📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-12-07🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Security Trustee Limited
- 2022-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-30📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2015-09-09🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2015-03-24🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bibby Financial Services Limited (As Security Trustee)
- 2011-07-22➕BARNES, Mathew, Mr. appointedsecretary
- 2011-07-22➖MCNEIL, Victoria resignedsecretary
- 2007-10-19🏢Company incorporatedAs AAJ CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
- 2007-10-19➕BARNES, Matthew appointeddirector
- 2007-10-19➕MCNEIL, Victoria appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in 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 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
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 Matthew Barnes Individual · British · DOB 05/1983 · age 43 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Nicola Barnes Individual · British · DOB 09/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Amy Louise Barnesceased 26/06/2025· 25-50% shares
- Nicola Mckeownceased 17/10/2024· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Trade services · WA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A BROWN MAINTENANCE LTD→ 13157597 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A1 HYDRAULICS (NORTH WEST) LIMITED→ 06817084 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| A1 TECH REPAIRS LIMITED→ 15244195 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A2B CABLE INSTALLATIONS. LTD→ 10731841 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AA - ANALYSIS BY AQUIL LIMITED→ 13789167 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AA CLEARANCES LTD→ 14196036 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AADI IT LIMITED→ 09036466 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AAISHA AALIYAH LIMITED→ 16531550 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AARDONYX LTD→ 15197160 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AB ADVISORY LTD→ 11899979 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AB AESTHETIC BUSINESS ACADEMY LTD→ 15677799 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AB ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ 10523296 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2007-10-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC81100 — SIC 81100
Registered office
14 Attenburys Park Estate
Attenburys Lane
Altrincham
WA14 5QE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-10
Last: 2025-06-26
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
BARNES, Mathew, Mr.→
Activesecretary · appointed 2011-07-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARNES, Matthew→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2007-10-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCNEIL, Victoria→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2007-10-19 · resigned 2011-07-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Security Trustee Limited | A registered charge | — | 07/12/2022 | — | |
| satisfied | Bibby Financial Services Bibby Financial Services Limited (As Security Trustee) | A registered charge | — | 24/03/2015 | 09/09/2015 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (61 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-26
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-06-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-20
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-12-08