1ST CIVIL ENGINEERING LTD

💤Zombieactive
06418945 · ltd · incorporated 2007-11-06
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£37.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (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 (77/100)

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 (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £37,820

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£38k
↑ 72% YoY
Current Assets
£39k
↓ 2.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£8k£16k£24k£32k£40kNov 2023Nov 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-11-052023-11-05
Total assets£38.6k£22.0k
Current assets£38.6k£39.6k
Cash—£39.6k
Net assets£37.8k£22.0k

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-12
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  3. 2024-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-12-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2014-11-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2009-10-01
    ➖
    DOWD, Timothy resigned
    secretary
  17. 2007-11-17
    ➕
    DOWD, Anthony Francis appointed
    director
  18. 2007-11-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST CIVIL ENGINEERING LTD
  19. 2007-11-06
    ➕
    DOWD, Timothy appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-11-06
    ➕
    DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2007-11-06
    ➖
    DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2007-11-06
    ➕
    DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2007-11-06
    ➖
    DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple 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

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 Anthony Francis Dowd
Individual · British · DOB 05/1983 · age 43
75–100%
—75-100% shares09/10/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2007-11-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.

Registered office

16 Richmond Close
Leeds
LS26 0LS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-05
Last made up to: 2024-11-05
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-20
Last: 2025-11-06

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

DOWD, Anthony Francis→
director · ~43y · appointed 2007-11-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOWD, Timothy→
secretary · appointed 2007-11-06 · resigned 2009-10-01
Resigned
DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-11-06 · resigned 2007-11-06
Resigned
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-11-06 · resigned 2007-11-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (44 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-05
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2025-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-08-28