ABS METALS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02563430 · ltd · incorporated 1990-11-29
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46120
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
84 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 700 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-16📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-11-28➖NICHOLLS, Lionel Russell resigneddirector
- 2025-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-08📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-12-05📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-10-01➕CARTER, Wayne appointeddirector
- 2004-08-09➖WILLIAMS, Trevor resigneddirector
- 1990-11-29🏢Company incorporatedAs ABS METALS LIMITED
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
69/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 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 Eric Nicholls Individual · British · DOB 09/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Lionel Russell Nicholls Individual · British · DOB 02/1930 · age 96 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 752 LIFE LTD→ 11455564 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABC SALES SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14117006 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AFFAAN TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED→ 12503248 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AGRI-CON SUPPLIERS LTD→ 10263939 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALBION TEXTILE ATELIER LTD→ 12278380 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALISONS AIR FILTERS LTD→ 16343248 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALL GOOD THINGS AGENCY LTD→ 16016928 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ARDEN ASIA COMPANY LIMITED→ 02761835 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
| ARSALAN TRADING LTD→ 16259783 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ART GARDEN GREETINGS LTD→ 15656040 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ATLANTIC ORTHO LTD→ 15129182 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BAINES DIRECT TRADING LTD→ 16721237 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1990-11-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46120 — SIC 46120
Registered office
Paul & Maundrell
The Athenaeum
Kimberley Place
Falmouth Cornwall
TR11 3QL
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-13
Last: 2025-11-29
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
Active
CARTER, Wayne→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2011-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NICHOLLS, Lionel Russell→
Resigneddirector · ~96y · resigned 2025-11-28
WILLIAMS, Trevor→
Resigneddirector · ~90y · resigned 2004-08-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (84 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-16
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-10-25