PANEL SYSTEMS LIMITED

📉Decliningactive
01179701 · ltd · incorporated 1974-08-05
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "declining"
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Conservative operator with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (85/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 49.2y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 49.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
123 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
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 · FRS 102
Profitable
Profit before tax £100,440

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Profit before tax£100.4k£393.4k
Average employees616300

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-05-07
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  5. 2024-05-06
    FAIRBURN, Carol resigned
    secretary
  6. 2023-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-11-18
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  9. 2021-11-18
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  10. 2021-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2007-05-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  18. 2007-04-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  19. 2007-03-19
    FAIRBURN, Carol appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-03-19
    MILNES, David Raymond resigned
    secretary
  21. 2007-03-19
    MILNES, David Raymond resigned
    director
  22. 2001-12-06
    DICKINSON, Michael John resigned
    director
  23. 1991-07-11
    DICKINSON, Michael John appointed
    director
  24. 1991-06-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  25. 1991-06-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  26. 1991-06-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  27. 1991-05-24
    MILNES, David Raymond appointed
    secretary
  28. 1991-05-24
    PRUST, Francis Charles resigned
    secretary
  29. 1991-05-24
    ADSETTS, William Norman, Sir resigned
    director
  30. 1991-05-24
    FORRESTER, William Wilson resigned
    director
  31. 1991-05-24
    PRUST, Francis Charles resigned
    director
  32. 1991-05-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  33. 1983-02-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: County Bank Limited
  34. 1977-09-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  35. 1977-02-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: County Bank Limited
  36. 1974-08-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As PANEL SYSTEMS LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — 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 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 52 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.

Group structure

Panel Systems (Holdings) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Panel Systems (Holdings) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
PANEL SYSTEMS LIMITED
This company · 01179701

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Panel Systems (Holdings) Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control18/11/2021
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Christopher Malcolm Ibbotsonceased 18/11/2021· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest

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

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
Incorporated1974-08-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

Units 3-9, Welland Close
Parkwood Industrial Estate
Rutland Road
Sheffield
S3 9QY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-17
Last: 2026-03-03

Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)

IBBOTSON, Christopher Malcolm
director · ~74y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FAIRBURN, Carol
secretary · appointed 2007-03-19 · resigned 2024-05-06
Resigned
MILNES, David Raymond
secretary · appointed 1991-05-24 · resigned 2007-03-19
Resigned
PRUST, Francis Charles
secretary · resigned 1991-05-24
Resigned
ADSETTS, William Norman, Sir
director · ~95y · resigned 1991-05-24
Resigned
DICKINSON, Michael John
director · ~77y · appointed 1991-07-11 · resigned 2001-12-06
Resigned
FORRESTER, William Wilson
director · ~86y · resigned 1991-05-24
Resigned
MILNES, David Raymond
director · ~74y · resigned 2007-03-19
Resigned
PRUST, Francis Charles
director · ~82y · resigned 1991-05-24
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Debenture1 property07/05/2007
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Debenture1 property24/05/199121/04/2007
satisfied
County Bank
County Bank Limited
Charge1 property18/02/198304/06/1991
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property01/09/197704/06/1991
satisfied
County Bank
County Bank Limited
Mortgage debenture1 property23/02/197704/06/1991
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (123 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2024-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-07
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-07
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2021-11-18
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-06