GUARD-TECH MACHINING SERVICES LTD
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -100% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 11.1y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredKey financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-5.1k | £-9.6k |
| Current assets | — | £22.2k |
| Cash | £75 | £22.2k |
| Net assets | £-5.1k | £-9.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 change-of-name
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-04-23✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2025-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-01-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-01-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-01-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-01-22📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2010-06-14🏢Company incorporatedAs GUARD-TECH MACHINING SERVICES LTD
- 2010-06-14➕GRAVENOR, Scott Lee appointeddirector
- 2010-06-14➕JANICKI, Anthony Paul appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 ·Name changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.
Evidence: 2026-04-23: certificate-change-of-name-company
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Scott Lee Gravenor Individual · British · DOB 04/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 14/06/2017 |
Mr Anthony Paul Janicki Individual · British · DOB 03/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 07/07/2015 | — |