ABBEY PRECISION TOOL COMPANY LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02567897 · ltd · incorporated 1990-12-12
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 28.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28490
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 82-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 82). 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 (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 28.6y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 28.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 6 | 600 |
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
- 2025-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-01-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-02📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2022-04-02📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2022-04-02📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2022-04-02📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2022-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-23📄statement-of-companys-objectschange-of-constitution · CC04
- 2020-09-23📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2020-09-23📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-09-23📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2019-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-05-01➕COTTON, Janet Ann appointeddirector
- 2000-02-03➕COTTON, Sean Andrew appointedsecretary
- 2000-02-03➕COTTON, Sean Andrew appointeddirector
- 2000-02-03➖COTTON, Patricia Winifred resignedsecretary
- 2000-02-03➖COTTON, Patricia Winifred resigneddirector
- 1997-10-06🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 1990-12-12🏢Company incorporatedAs ABBEY PRECISION TOOL COMPANY LIMITED
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +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
90/100
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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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 Bernard Cotton Individual · British · DOB 11/1944 · age 82 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Sean Andrew Cotton Individual · British · DOB 03/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 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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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 CLICK LOG CABINS LIMITED→ 07984465 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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| 3D3 LIMITED→ 12728479 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 7 STAR CATERING EQUIPMENT LTD→ 14702231 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A.G.M. SERVICES LIMITED→ 02868430 · est 1993 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
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| ACE CASE LIMITED→ 01191420 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 51y | — | — |
| ACELET TECHNOLOGIES LTD→ 16460522 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACEWELL ELECTRONICS LIMITED→ 01758253 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 42y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated1990-12-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC28490 — SIC 28490
Registered office
C/O Pm+M Greenbank Technology Park
Challenge Way
Blackburn
Lancashire
BB1 5QB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-26
Last: 2025-12-12
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
COTTON, Sean Andrew→
Activesecretary · appointed 2000-02-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COTTON, Janet Ann→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2011-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COTTON, Sean Andrew→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2000-02-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COTTON, Patricia Winifred→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2000-02-03
COTTON, Patricia Winifred→
Resigneddirector · ~81y · resigned 2000-02-03
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 | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Mortgage debenture | 1 property | 06/10/1997 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (97 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-01-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-16
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-04-02
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2022-04-02
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2022-04-02
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2022-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-31