ADS GROUNDWORKS LTD
🌳Matureactive
06794779 · ltd · incorporated 2009-01-19
Investment thesis
Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.
Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.
Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£1.68M
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 8.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 8.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (70/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
50 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,678,604
Net assets shrinking
Down £464,922 YoY
Cash YoY
-16%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£923k
↓ 16% YoY
Net Worth
£1.7m
↓ 22% YoY
Current Assets
£1.9m
↓ 22% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.78M | £2.26M |
| Current assets | £1.88M | £2.40M |
| Cash | £922.9k | £1.10M |
| Debtors | £533.0k | £929.4k |
| Net assets | £1.68M | £2.14M |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-14📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-08-09➖SMITH, Melonie resigneddirector
- 2018-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-11📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-05-08🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2017-10-10📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-10-10🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2017-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2017-01-01➕SMITH, Melonie appointeddirector
- 2016-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-05📄miscellaneousmiscellaneous · MISC
- 2009-01-19🏢Company incorporatedAs ADS GROUNDWORKS LTD
- 2009-01-19➕SMITH, Adrian appointeddirector
- 2009-01-19➕SMITH, Daren appointeddirector
- 2009-01-19➕SMITH, Shane appointeddirector
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
73/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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.)
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| ADJUSTIT LIMITED→ 16912213 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADVANCED BUILDING FACILITIES LIMITED→ 06052810 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ADVANCED ENGINEERING SUPPORT SERVICES LTD→ 05210724 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ADVANCED FACILITIES MANAGEMENT LTD→ 15704970 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADVANCED METAL FINISHERS LIMITED→ 07822094 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ADVANCED SCAFFOLDING UK LIMITED→ 04019263 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ADVANCED TECH LIMITED→ 07787985 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2009-01-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Victoria House 50 Alexandra Street
Southend-On-Sea
Essex
SS1 1BN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-03
Last: 2026-01-20
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
SMITH, Adrian→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2009-01-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Daren→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2009-01-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Shane→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2009-01-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Melonie→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2017-01-01 · resigned 2019-08-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 08/05/2018 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 10/10/2017 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (50 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2019-08-14