HQ ENGINEERING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
NI043667 · ltd · incorporated 2002-07-10
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£302.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (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 (58/100).
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
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
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
55 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £302,836
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£303k
↑ 8.3% YoY
Current Assets
£296k
↓ 4.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £302.8k | £279.6k |
| Current assets | £296.3k | £311.0k |
| Net assets | £302.8k | £279.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-07-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2002-07-10🏢Company incorporatedAs HQ ENGINEERING LIMITED
- 2002-07-10➕QUINN, Mary appointedsecretary
- 2002-07-10➕QUINN, Hugh 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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 24 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
- 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 Hugh Quinn Individual · Irish · DOB 01/1970 · age 56 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 01/06/2016 |
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S HERRON PROPERTIES LIMITED→ NI717130 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| S&FP CONTRACTS LTD→ NI676742 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| SEAVIEW CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ NI697171 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| SELECT ELECTRICAL & SECURITY SERVICES LTD→ NI620762 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| SETANTA LTD→ NI044495 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| SETTING SCENES LTD→ NI727209 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| SG GLASS LIMITED→ NI637635 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| SHANVEY LTD→ NI710101 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| SHARPE VENTILATION SERVICES LIMITED→ NI013213 · est 1978 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 47y | — | — |
| SILVERHILL CONTRACTS LTD.→ NI647577 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| SILVERWOOD CONTRACTS LTD→ NI735339 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| SIMIGE LIMITED→ NI684730 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-07-10
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Registered office
38 Crosscavanagh Road
Dungannon
BT70 3BJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-24
Last: 2025-07-10
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
Active
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (55 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-12