A.B.S. (BURTON) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
00972502 · ltd · incorporated 1970-02-16
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 35.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£2.16M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 82-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 82). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 35.3y
70/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 35.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (5 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
117 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
75
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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £2,155,454
Net assets shrinking
Down £126,022 YoY
Cash YoY
+9%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1.1m
↑ 9.3% YoY
Net Worth
£2.2m
↓ 5.5% YoY
Current Assets
£3.0m
↓ 5.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £2.19M | £2.33M |
| Current assets | £2.97M | £3.15M |
| Cash | £1.07M | £981.7k |
| Debtors | £933.9k | £1.14M |
| Net assets | £2.16M | £2.28M |
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-08-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-06-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-15📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-05-15📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-06-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-02-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-02-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-09-01➕WILLIAMS, Kerry Mary appointeddirector
- 2011-07-29🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2011-07-29🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2011-06-10➕CULBERT, Ian Robert appointeddirector
- 2001-04-26🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 1991-01-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1970-02-16🏢Company incorporatedAs A.B.S. (BURTON) LIMITED
Owner dependency
63/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 82 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
83/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 82 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 56 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 Ian Robert Culbert Individual · British · DOB 02/1971 · age 55 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 20/01/2020 |
Mrs Kerry Mary Williams Individual · British · DOB 05/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 28/08/2025 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Brenda May Culbertceased 29/04/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Mr Robert Culbertceased 29/04/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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
Active · Wholesale & distribution · WS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 PHASE RECORDS LIMITED→ 16395147 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 360 AEROMELT LTD→ 16038710 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 7 BROTHER'S KITCHEN BEDS AND BOOTH SEATING LIMITED→ 14428539 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A & C QUALITY MEATS LIMITED→ 12760750 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A CLOUD LTD→ 12490119 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A.F. BELTING LIMITED→ 12983172 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A&A GLOBAL LTD→ 17045741 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A1 HALAL MEAT MIDLANDS LTD→ 10797708 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AAE PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 08491428 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AALCO METALS LIMITED→ 03551533 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ABACUS BUILDERS MERCHANTS (WALSALL) LIMITED→ 01234861 · est 1975 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 50y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE VENDING UK LTD→ 16688805 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1970-02-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade
Registered office
Church Cottage Church Road
Stonnall
Walsall
West Midlands
WS9 9HL
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-29
Last: 2025-11-15
Officers (5 active · 0 resigned)
Active
Active
CULBERT, Ian Robert→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2011-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIAMS, Kerry Mary→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2011-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 26/04/2001 | 29/07/2011 | |
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 14/01/1991 | 29/07/2011 |
Recent filings (117 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-09-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-09-12
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-13
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-05-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-01