A1 FABRICATIONS & ENGINEERING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06564032 · ltd · incorporated 2008-04-14
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£-43.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 15.0y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 15.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 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
55 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £43,680

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£44k
↑ 30% YoY
Current Assets
£110k
↓ 33% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£63k-£17k£28k£74k£119k£165kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£-4.7k£12.3k
Current assets£110.2k£164.9k
Net assets£-43.7k£-62.7k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-10
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  5. 2023-01-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Aldermore Bank PLC
  6. 2022-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-07-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2021-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-10-14
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  11. 2020-10-14
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2020-10-14
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  13. 2020-10-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  14. 2020-10-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  15. 2020-10-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  16. 2020-01-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-09-11
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  19. 2018-09-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Aldermore Bank PLC
  20. 2017-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  21. 2017-07-01
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  22. 2016-06-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Close Brothers Limited (The "Security Trustee")
  23. 2013-04-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  24. 2012-12-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Aldermore Invoice Finance, a Division of Aldermore Bank PLC
  25. 2012-03-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
  26. 2011-05-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Aldermore Invoice Finance, a Division of Aldermore Bank PLC
  27. 2009-03-13
    ➖
    STATHER-LODGE, Jason Anthony Andrew resigned
    secretary
  28. 2008-04-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A1 FABRICATIONS & ENGINEERING LIMITED
  29. 2008-04-14
    ➕
    KNIGHT, Gary William John appointed
    director
  30. 2008-04-14
    ➕
    STATHER-LODGE, Jason Anthony Andrew appointed
    secretary

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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Gary William John Knight
Individual · British · DOB 03/1963 · age 63
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2008-04-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25110 — Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures

Registered office

Wold Farm Business Park Thrapston Road
Finedon
Wellingborough
NN9 5HW
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-22
Last: 2026-04-08

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

KNIGHT, Gary William John→
director · ~63y · appointed 2008-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STATHER-LODGE, Jason Anthony Andrew→
secretary · appointed 2008-04-14 · resigned 2009-03-13
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

6
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Aldermore
Aldermore Bank PLC
A registered charge—10/01/2023—
outstanding
Aldermore
Aldermore Bank PLC
A registered charge—10/09/2018—
satisfied
Close Brothers
Close Brothers Limited (The "Security Trustee")
A registered charge—21/06/201614/10/2020
satisfied
Aldermore
Aldermore Invoice Finance, a Division of Aldermore Bank PLC
Debenture1 property20/12/201214/10/2020
satisfied
NatWest Group
Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
All assets debenture1 property19/03/201216/04/2013
satisfied
Aldermore
Aldermore Invoice Finance, a Division of Aldermore Bank PLC
Debenture1 property24/05/201114/10/2020
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (55 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2023-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-26
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-10-14