AYRSHIRE METAL PRODUCTS (DAVENTRY) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC022877 · ltd · incorporated 1944-07-22
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25500
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 66). 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 59.9y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 59.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (59/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
14 officers (2 active, 14 linked, 9 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
127 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (42 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-29
    ➕
    CHETTLE, Nathan appointed
    secretary
  4. 2024-02-29
    ➖
    PICKERILL, David Keith resigned
    secretary
  5. 2024-02-29
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  6. 2024-02-29
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  7. 2023-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-07-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2022-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-05-24
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2021-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-09-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2019-03-19
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2019-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-04-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2018-03-31
    ➖
    SHORT, Peter John resigned
    director
  19. 2017-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2015-11-05
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  21. 2015-11-05
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  22. 2015-08-31
    ➖
    IZOD, Andrew John resigned
    director
  23. 2014-06-13
    ➖
    WIGLEY, David resigned
    director
  24. 2014-02-11
    ➕
    IZOD, Andrew John appointed
    director
  25. 2000-04-17
    ➕
    PICKERILL, David Keith appointed
    secretary
  26. 2000-03-31
    ➖
    GOODWIN, Christopher Gordon resigned
    secretary
  27. 1998-07-27
    ➕
    GOODWIN, Christopher Gordon appointed
    secretary
  28. 1998-07-27
    ➖
    SHORT, Peter John resigned
    secretary
  29. 1998-06-04
    ➕
    WIGLEY, David appointed
    director
  30. 1998-04-30
    ➖
    FELL, Jonathan Charles Stuart resigned
    director
  31. 1998-03-31
    ➖
    MACNAB, Colin Thomas resigned
    director
  32. 1995-09-28
    ➕
    SHORT, Peter John appointed
    director
  33. 1994-11-28
    ➕
    SHORT, Peter John appointed
    secretary
  34. 1994-11-25
    ➖
    BROWN, John Kenneth resigned
    secretary
  35. 1994-01-01
    ➕
    WILSON, Mark Lithgow appointed
    director
  36. 1993-12-31
    ➖
    BOYD, James Edward resigned
    director
  37. 1991-06-24
    ➖
    WILSON, William Simon resigned
    director
  38. 1990-09-20
    ➕
    FELL, Jonathan Charles Stuart appointed
    director
  39. 1990-09-19
    ➖
    BATES, Stephen John, Dr resigned
    director
  40. 1975-01-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited
  41. 1966-06-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited
  42. 1944-07-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AYRSHIRE METAL PRODUCTS (DAVENTRY) LIMITED

Owner dependency

100/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Lithgow Wilson
Individual · British · DOB 11/1960 · age 66
—75–100%75-100% voting · firm interest06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated1944-07-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC25500 — SIC 25500

Registered office

24 Royal Circus
Edinburgh
EH3 6SS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-25
Last: 2026-04-11

Officers (2 active · 12 resigned)

CHETTLE, Nathan→
secretary · appointed 2024-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILSON, Mark Lithgow→
director · ~66y · appointed 1994-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BROWN, John Kenneth→
secretary · resigned 1994-11-25
Resigned
GOODWIN, Christopher Gordon→
secretary · appointed 1998-07-27 · resigned 2000-03-31
Resigned
PICKERILL, David Keith→
secretary · appointed 2000-04-17 · resigned 2024-02-29
Resigned
SHORT, Peter John→
secretary · appointed 1994-11-28 · resigned 1998-07-27
Resigned
BATES, Stephen John, Dr→
director · ~76y · resigned 1990-09-19
Resigned
BOYD, James Edward→
director · ~98y · resigned 1993-12-31
Resigned
FELL, Jonathan Charles Stuart→
director · ~71y · appointed 1990-09-20 · resigned 1998-04-30
Resigned
IZOD, Andrew John→
director · ~62y · appointed 2014-02-11 · resigned 2015-08-31
Resigned
MACNAB, Colin Thomas→
director · ~88y · resigned 1998-03-31
Resigned
SHORT, Peter John→
director · ~68y · appointed 1995-09-28 · resigned 2018-03-31
Resigned
WIGLEY, David→
director · ~66y · appointed 1998-06-04 · resigned 2014-06-13
Resigned
WILSON, William Simon→
director · ~104y · resigned 1991-06-24
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
satisfied
The Commercial Union Assurance Company
The Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited
Deed of substitution1 property27/01/197505/11/2015
satisfied
The Commercial Union Assurance Company
The Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited
Trust deed1 property06/06/196605/11/2015

Recent filings (127 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-11
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-02-29
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-02-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-13