ARTHUR C. ABBOTT LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00537182 · ltd · incorporated 1954-08-21
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-3.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 36.5y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 36.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (1 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
139 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £3,590
Very low cash
Cash position: £20
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,566 YoY
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£20
~ YoY
Net Worth
-£4k
↓ 190% YoY
Current Assets
£16k
↓ 43% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£4k£3k£9k£15k£22k£28kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£-3.6k£4.0k
Current assets£16.0k£27.8k
Cash£20£20
Debtors£16.0k£27.8k
Net assets£-3.6k£4.0k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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
2
filings
  • • 1 address
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 address
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-02-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2019-02-01
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  10. 2019-02-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2019-02-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2019-02-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2019-02-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2019-01-30
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  15. 2019-01-30
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2019-01-09
    ➕
    PENSON, Michael John appointed
    director
  17. 2019-01-09
    ➖
    ABBOTT, Richard Charles resigned
    secretary
  18. 2019-01-09
    ➖
    ABBOTT, David Charles resigned
    director
  19. 2019-01-09
    ➖
    ABBOTT, Richard Charles resigned
    director
  20. 2019-01-09
    ➖
    CRABTREE, Timothy Corbet resigned
    director
  21. 2019-01-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2018-11-30
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  23. 2018-11-30
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  24. 2018-11-30
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  25. 2009-11-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
  26. 2007-03-28
    ➖
    ANSELL, Gary John resigned
    director
  27. 2001-07-02
    ➕
    ANSELL, Gary John appointed
    director
  28. 2000-12-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  29. 2000-07-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  30. 2000-01-31
    ➖
    PAUL, Nigel Trevor resigned
    director
  31. 1995-12-31
    ➖
    PLANT, Nicholas resigned
    secretary
  32. 1995-10-01
    ➕
    PAUL, Nigel Trevor appointed
    director
  33. 1995-07-31
    ➖
    READING, Brian resigned
    director
  34. 1995-07-14
    ➕
    ABBOTT, Richard Charles appointed
    secretary
  35. 1995-07-14
    ➖
    PLANT, Nicholas resigned
    director
  36. 1990-01-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  37. 1954-08-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARTHUR C. ABBOTT LIMITED

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 72 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Micheael John Penson
Individual · British · DOB 11/1965 · age 61
75–100%
—75-100% shares09/01/2019
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Timothy Corbet Crabtreeceased 09/01/2019· 50-75% shares
  • Mr David Abbottceased 09/01/2019· 25-50% shares

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

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
Incorporated1954-08-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Registered office

Unit 1 Unit 1 Marcus Close
Reading
RG30 4EA
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-21
Last: 2026-04-07

Officers (1 active · 9 resigned)

PENSON, Michael John→
director · ~61y · appointed 2019-01-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ABBOTT, Richard Charles→
secretary · appointed 1995-07-14 · resigned 2019-01-09
Resigned
PLANT, Nicholas→
secretary · resigned 1995-12-31
Resigned
ABBOTT, David Charles→
director · ~71y · resigned 2019-01-09
Resigned
ABBOTT, Richard Charles→
director · ~74y · resigned 2019-01-09
Resigned
ANSELL, Gary John→
director · ~68y · appointed 2001-07-02 · resigned 2007-03-28
Resigned
CRABTREE, Timothy Corbet→
director · ~72y · resigned 2019-01-09
Resigned
PAUL, Nigel Trevor→
director · ~70y · appointed 1995-10-01 · resigned 2000-01-31
Resigned
PLANT, Nicholas→
director · ~68y · resigned 1995-07-14
Resigned
READING, Brian→
director · ~95y · resigned 1995-07-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
Debenture1 property04/11/200930/11/2018
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Debenture1 property28/07/200030/11/2018
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Debenture1 property02/01/199008/12/2000

Recent filings (139 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-04-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-14