A1 ENGRAVING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06681592 · ltd · incorporated 2008-08-26
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
£-7.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -32% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
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 · FRS 102Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £7,184
Net assets shrinking
Down £57,946 YoY
Cash YoY
-32%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£61k
↓ 32% YoY
Net Worth
-£7k
↓ 114% YoY
Current Assets
£140k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £42.4k | £153.3k |
| Current assets | £139.6k | £182.4k |
| Cash | £61.0k | £90.4k |
| Debtors | £76.1k | £89.5k |
| Net assets | £-7.2k | £50.8k |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-19➖KENT, Geraldine Louise resigneddirector
- 2024-08-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-20📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-01-18➕KENT, Geraldine Louise appointeddirector
- 2021-11-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2016-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-08-26🏢Company incorporatedAs A1 ENGRAVING LIMITED
- 2008-08-26➕GILLSON, Jason Jeffrey appointeddirector
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 18 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 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 Jason Jeffrey Gillson Individual · British · DOB 07/1986 · age 40 | 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.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| >8< ORIGINAL PAINTINGS LIMITED→ 13889549 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 360 COLOMBO LIMITED→ 16912858 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36FASHIONPOINT LTD→ 16234689 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 3R'S RETAIL LTD→ 14351884 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 7EVN RETAILS LIMITED→ 16832076 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A2B EVENTS LTD→ 14692641 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AA AND S HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 17039054 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AAR ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ 10876390 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AARDS CARDS LTD→ 14280314 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AB SHOPTOK LIMITED→ 17025304 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABDUCTION 51 LTD→ 11685490 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABS WORKS LIMITED→ 11671602 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-08-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47789 — Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Registered office
Dba The Union Building
51-59 Rose Lane
Norwich
NR1 1BY
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-02
Last: 2025-08-19
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
GILLSON, Jason Jeffrey→
Activedirector · ~40y · appointed 2008-08-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KENT, Geraldine Louise→
Resigneddirector · ~44y · appointed 2023-01-18 · resigned 2024-08-19
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (44 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-20
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-23