AGRICULTURAL AUTO ENGINEERING LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC290408 · ltd · incorporated 2005-09-16
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£519.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33170
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (75/100)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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
49 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £518,960
Cash YoY
+20%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£198k
↑ 20% YoY
Net Worth
£519k
↑ 6.2% YoY
Current Assets
£394k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £531.6k | £502.8k |
| Current assets | £394.3k | £354.5k |
| Cash | £198.5k | £165.6k |
| Debtors | £153.4k | £146.7k |
| Net assets | £519.0k | £488.5k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-10-09📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2005-11-01➕FITZELLE, Amanda appointedsecretary
- 2005-11-01➕FITZELLE, Gerald Anthony appointeddirector
- 2005-11-01➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-11-01➖JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-09-16🏢Company incorporatedAs AGRICULTURAL AUTO ENGINEERING LTD.
- 2005-09-16➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-09-16➕JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gerald Anthony Fitzelle Individual · British · DOB 04/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Amanda Fitzelle Individual · British · DOB 09/1969 · age 57 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AYRSHIRE METAL PENSION TRUST LIMITED→ SC049149 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 54y | — | — |
| B&V REPAIRS LTD→ SC837711 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BACKSTORY LIMITED→ SC533300 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BELL ISOLATION SYSTEMS LIMITED→ SC220229 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| BELLTREE LIMITED→ SC160001 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| BESPOKE DRYWALL SYSTEMS LTD→ SC720672 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BEST BIB N TUCKER CIC→ SC515921 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BEYOND UTILITY LTD→ SC747627 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BIBLICHOR LTD→ SC525025 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BLAZION LTD→ SC838867 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BOOKBINDING BY CRAWFORD LTD→ SC337349 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BOOTS N PIECES LTD→ SC746479 · est 2022 · 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
Incorporated2005-09-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC33170 — SIC 33170
Registered office
27 Clifford Road
North Berwick
EH39 4PW
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
FITZELLE, Gerald Anthony→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2005-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-09-16 · resigned 2005-11-01
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-09-16 · resigned 2005-11-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (49 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-09-26