A.F. PLANT & ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
10910609 · ltd · incorporated 2017-08-11
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£-49.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Repair of machinery
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 71/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
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
24 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £49,169
Very low cash
Cash position: £5
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£5
~ YoY
Net Worth
-£49k
↓ 121% YoY
Current Assets
£71k
↓ 14% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-17.0k | £29.2k |
| Current assets | £71.5k | £82.8k |
| Cash | £5 | £5 |
| Debtors | £71.5k | £61.3k |
| Net assets | £-49.2k | £-22.2k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-25📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2022-01-14📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2022-01-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-24📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2020-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-08-17📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2019-08-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC08
- 2019-04-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-08-11🏢Company incorporatedAs A.F. PLANT & ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD
- 2017-08-11➕FRAZER, Alexander James appointeddirector
- 2017-08-11📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
80/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
45/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 Alexander James Frazer Individual · British · DOB 10/1991 · age 35 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 14/08/2019 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · GL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A A MASON LIMITED→ 06636917 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| A&G PROCUREMENT GROUP LIMITED→ 13331574 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AARDVARK JEWELLERY LIMITED→ 04878002 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ABACUS UPHOLSTERY LIMITED→ 13313380 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABEC LTD→ 06143642 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ABLE2 WEAR LIMITED→ 10809165 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACCURATE BOILER SERVICES LTD→ 16719736 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACORN THORN LTD.→ 03094490 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| ACOUSTIC ENERGY LOUDSPEAKERS LIMITED→ 10636655 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACP SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 03214635 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ACS FABRICATIONS LTD→ 15907342 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACTIVE TRADE FRAMES LTD→ 11198479 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-08-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33120 — Repair of machinery
Registered office
54 Godfrey Place
Upper Rissington
Cheltenham
GL54 2QN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-24
Last: 2025-08-10
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
FRAZER, Alexander James→
Activedirector · ~35y · appointed 2017-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (24 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-18
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2022-01-25
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2022-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-03
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2020-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-11