AED - AUTHORISING ENGINEER & DESIGN LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
08855629 · ltd · incorporated 2014-01-22
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
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
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
33 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-01📄change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH04
- 2021-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-12📄change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH04
- 2018-09-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-09-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-01-01➕O'NEILL, Kay Debra appointeddirector
- 2014-01-22🏢Company incorporatedAs AED - AUTHORISING ENGINEER & DESIGN LIMITED
- 2014-01-22➕AML REGISTRARS LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2014-01-22➕O'NEILL, John Joseph appointeddirector
Owner dependency
81/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
69/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Joseph O'Neill Individual · British · DOB 11/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Kay Debra O'Neill Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 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 · SW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADVANCED PERSONNEL LIMITED→ 10857860 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADVANCY LIMITED→ 10548420 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ADVEDA LIMITED→ 12121342 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADVENCAP UK LIMITED→ 14114194 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADVISE ADVANCE ACCELERATE LIMITED→ 14482684 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADVISORUM LTD→ 03913778 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ADVISORY STUDIO LTD→ 17114906 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADVISORYPE LIMITED→ 03074797 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| AELYS LTD→ 16558026 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AEQUATOR CAPITAL LIMITED→ 06954396 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AEQUITAS SEED ANALYTICS (ASEEDA) LIMITED→ 09452915 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AERIAL PERSPECTIVE DRONE SERVICES LIMITED→ 14627964 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-01-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
The Long Lodge 265-269 Kingston Road,
Wimbledon
London
SW19 3NW
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last: 2026-01-17
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
AML REGISTRARS LIMITED→
Activecorporate-secretary · appointed 2014-01-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
O'NEILL, John Joseph→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2014-01-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
O'NEILL, Kay Debra→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2015-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-03
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2022-02-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-22