ADVANCED TEST LTD
💤Zombieactive
07976088 · ltd · incorporated 2012-03-05
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
£-9.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 78/100 (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: 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 (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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 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
37 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 £9,436
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£9k
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-09-09 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £-9.4k |
| Net assets | £-9.4k |
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
4
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-05📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2026-04-27📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2026-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-11📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2025-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-07-19📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-07-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2012-03-05🏢Company incorporatedAs ADVANCED TEST LTD
- 2012-03-05➕HINES, Andrew Lloyd appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
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 14 years.
- 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 Andrew Lloyd Hines Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · WD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADVYAN LIMITED→ 15807015 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AG INNOVATION & STRATEGY LTD→ 13914483 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AGILITY MARKETING LTD→ 04797794 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AGJ CAPITAL LIMITED→ 16581193 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AI CHANGE PARTNERS LTD→ 15349768 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AI EVOLUTION CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16198346 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AI-MGLOBAL LTD→ 14928624 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AIB TRANSPORT SERVICES LIMITED→ 16212819 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AIMPLOY LTD→ 15709259 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AIR PERSONNEL LTD→ 11642480 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AIROTECH R & D LTD→ 16166036 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AISK LTD→ 17023008 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-03-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
4th Floor Radius House
51 Clarendon Road
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD17 1HP
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-09
Last made up to: 2025-09-09
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-19
Last: 2026-03-05
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
HINES, Andrew Lloyd→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2012-03-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (37 total)
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-05-05
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-19
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-07
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-07-19