ACK ENGINEERING LTD
💤Zombieactive
08740833 · ltd · incorporated 2013-10-21
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£-24.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 65). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 7.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 7.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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 (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
44 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
70
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 · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £23,998
Net assets shrinking
Down £25,498 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£24k
↓ 1700% YoY
Current Assets
£83k
↓ 7.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £18.5k | £51.0k |
| Current assets | £83.2k | £90.0k |
| Net assets | £-24.0k | £1.5k |
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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-11📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-01-11🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2022-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-02-25➖PLEDGER, Nathaniel resigneddirector
- 2022-02-25📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-01-26📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-01-26📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-01-26🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2022-01-19🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Shire Invoice Finance Limited
- 2022-01-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-11-25📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-22📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2021-06-22📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-06-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-18➕PLEDGER, Nathaniel appointeddirector
- 2019-09-06📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-09-01➖KNIGHT, Stephen Alfred resigneddirector
- 2018-08-28🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Shire Invoice Finance Limited
- 2013-10-21🏢Company incorporatedAs ACK ENGINEERING LTD
- 2013-10-21➕CUNNINGHAM, Andrew Daniel appointedsecretary
- 2013-10-21➕ANDERSON, Laurence Gorden appointeddirector
- 2013-10-21➕KNIGHT, Stephen Alfred appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
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 65. 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 13 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Laurence Gorden Anderson Individual · British · DOB 07/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Stephen Alfred Knightceased 20/09/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · CM postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A H ELECTRICAL & EV SERVICES LTD→ 13741120 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A J L ELECTRICAL SALES LIMITED→ 04581848 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ACE WELDING AND POWDER COATING SERVICES LIMITED→ 10033653 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACONDA INDUSTRIAL CARRIERS LIMITED→ 10705828 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACS CARPENTRY LTD→ 16683891 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACTION HANDLING EQUIPMENT LIMITED→ 00985730 · est 1970 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 55y | — | — |
| AD FABRICATION LIMITED→ 02587848 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| AD TOTAL FAB LTD→ 13164328 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AD-TEK FINISHINGS LIMITED→ 04973242 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AD-TEK PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 04090750 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ADM ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ 05471350 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ADP SERVICES LTD→ 10458963 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2013-10-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25110 — Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Registered office
Unit 18 Eckersley Road Industrial Estate
Chelmsford
CM1 1SL
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-06
Last: 2026-02-20
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
CUNNINGHAM, Andrew Daniel→
Activesecretary · appointed 2013-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ANDERSON, Laurence Gorden→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2013-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KNIGHT, Stephen Alfred→
Resigneddirector · ~77y · appointed 2013-10-21 · resigned 2019-09-01
PLEDGER, Nathaniel→
Resigneddirector · ~49y · appointed 2020-09-18 · resigned 2022-02-25
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Shire Invoice Finance Shire Invoice Finance Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 19/01/2022 | 11/01/2023 | |
| satisfied | Shire Invoice Finance Shire Invoice Finance Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 28/08/2018 | 26/01/2022 |
Recent filings (44 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-07-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-02-25
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-01-26
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-01-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-01-14