A D E SYSTEMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02710320 · ltd · incorporated 1992-04-28
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Technical testing and analysis
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
86 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-13📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-04-13📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-04-13📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-01-09➖BICKNELL, Christine Mary resignedsecretary
- 2023-01-09➖BICKNELL, Christine Mary resigneddirector
- 2022-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-01-01➕BICKNELL, Richard Charles appointeddirector
- 1992-04-28🏢Company incorporatedAs A D E SYSTEMS LIMITED
- 1992-04-28➕BICKNELL, Stephen Ralph appointeddirector
- 1992-04-28➕BICKNELL, Christine Mary appointedsecretary
- 1992-04-28➕WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1992-04-28➖WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1992-04-28➕BICKNELL, Christine Mary appointeddirector
- 1992-04-28➕WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1992-04-28➖WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
91/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
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 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 34 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Richard Charles Bicknell Individual · British · DOB 06/1984 · age 42 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 28/04/2017 |
Mr Stephen Ralph Bicknell Individual · British · DOB 03/1949 · age 77 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 28/04/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Christine Mary Bicknellceased 09/01/2023· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · PR postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 COMMUNICATIONS LTD→ 12167801 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 94 AUDIO LTD→ 11704879 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A & CO ACCOUNTING LIMITED→ 13971627 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A.D.B PROJECT CONSULTING LIMITED→ 08107854 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ABS COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 09278150 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACACIA FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 14675765 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACCNOVATE LTD→ 16245688 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTING FOR PROFIT NORTH WEST LTD→ 09333841 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTING WORKS LTD→ 14431984 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTS AND TAX RETURNS LTD→ 04540502 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTS SHERPA LIMITED→ 14608603 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACFALLON LIMITED→ 15409077 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1992-04-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71200 — Technical testing and analysis
Registered office
84 Market Street
Adlington
Chorley
Lancashire
PR7 4HF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-14
Last: 2026-03-31
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
BICKNELL, Richard Charles→
Activedirector · ~42y · appointed 2017-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BICKNELL, Stephen Ralph→
Activedirector · ~77y · appointed 1992-04-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BICKNELL, Christine Mary→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-04-28 · resigned 2023-01-09
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1992-04-28 · resigned 1992-04-28
BICKNELL, Christine Mary→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 1992-04-28 · resigned 2023-01-09
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1992-04-28 · resigned 1992-04-28
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (86 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-14
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-13
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-04-13
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04