ABLEGRIP LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02241978 · ltd · incorporated 1988-04-08
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£3.10M
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Dispensing chemist in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 68100Buying and selling of own real estate
  • 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 65). 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

5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 37.5y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 37.5 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, 3 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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
100 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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £3,100,898
Net assets shrinking
Down £13,756 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£3.1m
~ YoY
Current Assets
£2.4m
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£631k£1.3m£1.9m£2.5m£3.2mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£3.12M£3.15M
Current assets£2.44M£3.15M
Net assets£3.10M£3.11M

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-11-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-12-27
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2023-04-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2022-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-01-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  13. 2018-01-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2018-01-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  15. 2018-01-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  16. 2017-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2012-10-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Santander UK PLC
  18. 2012-10-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Santander UK PLC
  19. 2012-10-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  20. 2012-10-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  21. 2010-03-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Ingenious Resources Limited
  22. 2010-03-25
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  23. 1988-10-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  24. 1988-10-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  25. 1988-04-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABLEGRIP LIMITED

Owner dependency

95/100
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 65 — succession pressure is live.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 38 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 38 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 Manoj Kumar Bharania
Individual · British · DOB 02/1961 · age 65
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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

8 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
Incorporated1988-04-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47730 — Dispensing chemist in specialised stores

Registered office

26 Station Road
Watford
WD17 1JU
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-30
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-23
Last: 2026-04-09

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

BHARANIA, Ramila
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BHARANIA, Manoj Kumar
director · ~65y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Santander
Santander UK PLC
Legal charge1 property31/10/201215/01/2018
satisfied
Santander
Santander UK PLC
Debenture1 property31/10/201215/01/2018
satisfied
Ingenious Resources
Ingenious Resources Limited
Deed of charge1 property30/03/201016/10/2012
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property31/10/198816/10/2012
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property25/10/198825/03/2010

Recent filings (100 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-06