CLASSIC SOLUTIONS ENGINEERING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06536369 · ltd · incorporated 2008-03-17
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£-66.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 30990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
48 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 · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £65,995
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£66k
↓ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£5k
↓ 13% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-65.6k | £-59.5k |
| Current assets | £5.2k | £6.0k |
| Net assets | £-66.0k | £-59.9k |
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 (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-28📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2022-11-28📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2022-11-28📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-11-22➕TERNENT, Keith appointedsecretary
- 2022-11-22➖TERNENT, Fidelma Mary resignedsecretary
- 2022-11-22➖TERNENT, Fidelma Mary resigneddirector
- 2022-02-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-23📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2019-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-12📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2017-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-03-17🏢Company incorporatedAs CLASSIC SOLUTIONS ENGINEERING LIMITED
- 2008-03-17➕TERNENT, Keith appointeddirector
- 2008-03-17➕TERNENT, Fidelma Mary appointedsecretary
- 2008-03-17➕TERNENT, Fidelma Mary appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
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 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 candidateStrong 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
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 Keith Ternent Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · DH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALLTRONICS LIMITED→ 05181242 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| CARTMAN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS LIMITED→ 16666714 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CATERING UNITS AND VAN CONVERSIONS LIMITED→ 13805983 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CAV ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED→ 06714060 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| CLOVER 51 LIMITED→ 08013755 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| COMPUTER & LAPTOP REPAIR SERVICES LIMITED→ 08399036 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CON MECH ENGINEERS LIMITED→ 00677804 · est 1960 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | — | — |
| CONSETT STEEL WORKS LTD→ 13590561 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CONTRACT SERVICES WOOD MACHINERY LTD→ 08272055 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CONVERGENT LABS LTD→ 16887177 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| COOPER SYSTEMS DESIGN LIMITED→ 16791959 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CORE CONTRACT FURNITURE LTD→ 14976802 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-03-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC30990 — SIC 30990
Registered office
Unit 15 Sacriston Industrial Estate, Plawsworth Road
Sacriston
Durham
DH7 6JX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-15
Last: 2025-12-01
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
TERNENT, Keith→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2008-03-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TERNENT, Fidelma Mary→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2008-03-17 · resigned 2022-11-22
TERNENT, Fidelma Mary→
Resigneddirector · ~52y · appointed 2008-03-17 · resigned 2022-11-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (48 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-01
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-11-28
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-11-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-01