FIRST LIFT ENGINEERS LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC261535 · ltd · incorporated 2004-01-07
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£24.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33200
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Deleverage or restructure. Leverage at 100% of assets — consider sale of non-core assets or equity injection. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 22.2y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 22.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
59 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £24,061
High leverage
Liabilities are 100% of total assets
Leverage
100%
Liabilities / Total assets

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£24k
↑ 1.3% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↓ 2.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£11k£17k£23k£29kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£38.7k£23.9k
Current assets£28.0k£28.7k
Cash—£10.0k
Debtors—£12.7k
Net assets£24.1k£23.8k

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 (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-11
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2025-02-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-01-11
    ➖
    HUGHES, Catherine resigned
    director
  5. 2024-04-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-05-17
    ➖
    HUGHES, Christopher resigned
    director
  8. 2023-05-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2022-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-02-02
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  11. 2022-01-07
    ➖
    WWW.FIRSTREGISTRARS.CO.UK LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  12. 2021-10-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-11-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2016-06-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  19. 2016-05-31
    ➕
    HUGHES, Catherine appointed
    director
  20. 2016-05-31
    ➕
    HUGHES, Christopher appointed
    director
  21. 2005-01-05
    ➕
    WWW.FIRSTREGISTRARS.CO.UK LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2005-01-04
    ➖
    CROSSING REGISTRARS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2004-01-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  24. 2004-01-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FIRST LIFT ENGINEERS LTD.
  25. 2004-01-07
    ➕
    HUGHES, John Charles appointed
    director
  26. 2004-01-07
    ➕
    CROSSING REGISTRARS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Charles Hughes
Individual · British · DOB 01/1956 · age 70
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Catherine Hughesceased 11/01/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated2004-01-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC33200 — SIC 33200

Registered office

Afm House
6 Crofthead Road
Prestwick
Ayrshire
KA9 1HW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-21
Last: 2026-01-07

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

HUGHES, John Charles→
director · ~70y · appointed 2004-01-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CROSSING REGISTRARS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-01-07 · resigned 2005-01-04
Resigned
WWW.FIRSTREGISTRARS.CO.UK LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2005-01-05 · resigned 2022-01-07
Resigned
HUGHES, Catherine→
director · ~66y · appointed 2016-05-31 · resigned 2025-01-11
Resigned
HUGHES, Christopher→
director · ~36y · appointed 2016-05-31 · resigned 2023-05-17
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property23/01/2004—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (59 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-11
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-02-11
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-04-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-10-13
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-02
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-13