A.B. STUDIOS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02533805 · ltd · incorporated 1990-08-23
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£1.12M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Video production activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 29.9y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 29.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
109 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
85
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 £1,121,520
Net assets shrinking
Down £51,144 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£1.1m
↓ 4.4% YoY
Current Assets
£1.5m
↓ 2.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-08-29 | 2023-08-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.25M | £1.29M |
| Current assets | £1.50M | £1.54M |
| Net assets | £1.12M | £1.17M |
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 (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-09-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-02📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2025-08-09📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-07-29📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-08-24📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-05-14📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2024-04-23📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-10-07📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2023-09-26📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-05-12📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2023-05-11📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-04-06📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-11-10📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2022-10-25📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2022-05-25📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-02-28➖BERRY, Alan Leonard resignedsecretary
- 2022-02-16➖BERRY, Alan Leonard resigneddirector
- 1996-05-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1990-08-23🏢Company incorporatedAs A.B. STUDIOS LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
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 80 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 36 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Patricia Berry Individual · English · DOB 06/1946 · age 80 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 11/05/2025 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · CH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1705 DESIGN LIMITED→ 06858866 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| 20 WINSTON RECORDS LTD→ 14147241 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 22AUDIO LTD→ 14807745 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 24 RACING MEDIA LTD→ 12489761 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 27 ADVISORY LTD→ 11702538 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 3D HD PRINTS UK LIMITED→ 16079390 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 43 BRIDGE STREET LTD→ 16213120 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 528 DIGITAL LTD→ 14899977 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 8BCC LIMITED→ 13710406 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A BIT TOO LATE FILMS LTD→ 16116076 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A BLUSH OF ROSE LIMITED→ 08576200 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ABCT.NET LIMITED→ 10538782 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1990-08-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC59112 — Video production activities
Registered office
C/O Wainwrights Accountants Faversham House Wirral International Business Park
Old Hall Road
Bromborough
Wirral
CH62 3NX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-29
Last made up to: 2024-08-29
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-25
Last: 2025-05-11
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
Active
BERRY, Alan Leonard→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2022-02-28
BERRY, Alan Leonard→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · resigned 2022-02-16
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 2 properties | 22/05/1996 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (109 total)
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-09-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-09-02
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2025-09-02
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-06
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-09-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-29
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-08-24
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2024-05-14
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-04-23