ASTUTE LIFTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

06480677 · ltd · incorporated 2008-01-23

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

£12.7k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 33170

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

54 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £12,667

Net assets shrinking

Down £69,748 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£13k

↓ 85% YoY

Current Assets

£13k

↓ 86% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2026-01-31	2025-01-31
Total assets	£13.4k	£83.1k
Current assets	£13.4k	£92.9k
Net assets	£12.7k	£82.4k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 gazette
• 1 dissolution

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 gazette
• 1 dissolution
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2026-05-19
📄
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-05-06
📄
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-01-29
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-01-29
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-01-29
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-08
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2019-07-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-08-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2008-10-31
➖
HAWLEY, Brett Edward resigned
director
2008-01-23
🏢
Company incorporated
As ASTUTE LIFTS LIMITED
2008-01-23
➕
OWEN, David Alun appointed
secretary
2008-01-23
➕
OWEN, David Alun appointed
director
2008-01-23
➕
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2008-01-23
➖
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2008-01-23
➕
HAWLEY, Brett Edward appointed
director
2008-01-23
➕
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2008-01-23
➖
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100

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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

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 63. 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 18 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David Alun Owen Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence · firm interest	01/01/2017

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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AXLE ENGINEERING LTD→ 14970774 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AZTEC ENGINEERING (CHARING) LIMITED→ 05949129 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
B & B BUSINESS EQUIPMENT LIMITED→ 01948451 · est 1985 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	40y	—	—
B BRIDGES LTD→ 14606827 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—

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

Incorporated2008-01-23

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC33170 — SIC 33170

Registered office

29 Park Hill Road

Otford

Kent

TN14 5QH

United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-10-31

Last made up to: 2026-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-06

Last: 2026-01-23

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

OWEN, David Alun→

secretary · appointed 2008-01-23

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

OWEN, David Alun→

director · ~63y · appointed 2008-01-23

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2008-01-23 · resigned 2008-01-23

Resigned

HAWLEY, Brett Edward→

director · ~51y · appointed 2008-01-23 · resigned 2008-10-31

Resigned

FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2008-01-23 · resigned 2008-01-23

Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

gazette-notice-voluntary

gazette · GAZ1(A)

2026-05-19

dissolution-application-strike-off-company

dissolution · DS01

2026-05-06

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-03-13