A & E HYDRAULICS LTD
💤Zombieactive
08782351 · ltd · incorporated 2013-11-19
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£517
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33200
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
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 (76/100)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 (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £517
Net assets shrinking
Down £2,210 YoY
Cash YoY
+598%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£18k
↑ 598% YoY
Net Worth
£517
↓ 81% YoY
Current Assets
£38k
↑ 123% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £13.1k | £3.0k |
| Current assets | £38.4k | £17.2k |
| Cash | £17.8k | £2.5k |
| Debtors | £14.6k | £7.9k |
| Net assets | £517 | £2.7k |
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 (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-27📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2018-01-24📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2018-01-23📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2017-08-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-30➕LEES, Amanda appointedsecretary
- 2016-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-11-19🏢Company incorporatedAs A & E HYDRAULICS LTD
- 2013-11-19➕RICHARDSON, Edward 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 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 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 Edward John Richardson Individual · British · DOB 05/1964 · age 62 | 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.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 BRICKIN PLACE LTD→ 11799966 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 1ST MILLENNIUM ELECTRONICS LIMITED→ 03788514 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| 3 BROTHERS FENCING & LANDSCAPING LTD→ 16324620 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 40PARTS LTD→ 16221557 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4FORTHECULTURE. LTD→ 15553880 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A AND L MOORINGS LIMITED→ 16554468 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A3P LTD→ 13655409 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AALTO HAPS LIMITED→ 13925802 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE AROMAS LIMITED→ 02968674 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ABTECH PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 03956270 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ABUS CRANE SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 02591463 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| AC ENGINEERING (BYFLEET) LIMITED→ 04736551 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-11-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33200 — SIC 33200
Registered office
Unit B, The Factory
Dippenhall
Farnham
GU10 5DW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last: 2025-11-16
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
RICHARDSON, Edward→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2013-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-19