ABLE BOARD COMPANY LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02720016 · ltd · incorporated 1992-06-03
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 33.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46730
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 96090Other service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 33.4y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 33.4 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 (77/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
108 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
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 | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 5 | 500 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 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 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-05-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-06-23📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-04-01➖GUNBY, Barry resigneddirector
- 2020-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-02-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-02-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-02-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-02-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2011-02-07➖HUDSON, Frank resignedsecretary
- 2006-05-31➕GUNBY, Carl Thomas appointeddirector
- 2006-05-31➖DAVIES, Trevor resigneddirector
- 1994-06-20➕GUNBY, Lee James appointeddirector
- 1993-01-11🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1992-08-26➕HUDSON, Frank appointedsecretary
- 1992-08-26➖CHETTLEBURGH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1992-08-26➕DAVIES, Trevor appointeddirector
- 1992-08-26➕GUNBY, Barry appointeddirector
- 1992-08-26➖CHETTLEBURGH'S LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1992-06-03🏢Company incorporatedAs ABLE BOARD COMPANY LIMITED
- 1992-06-03➕CHETTLEBURGH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1992-06-03➕CHETTLEBURGH'S LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
76/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
66/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Lee James Gunby Individual · British · DOB 06/1969 · age 57 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Carl Thomas Gunby Individual · British · DOB 12/1971 · age 55 | 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.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A GAME NUTRITION LTD→ 16578180 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A&K GROUP LTD→ 15944533 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCESS WORLDWIDE LTD→ 16056083 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACL DRY GOODS WHOLESALE LTD→ 16265333 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACORN 33 LTD→ 16447811 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADAPTIVE HEALTH LTD→ 14988939 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADIDAS (U.K.) LIMITED→ 01075951 · est 1972 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 53y | — | — |
| ADRIAN VICKERTON LIMITED→ 05675368 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ADSKI LTD→ 14593557 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADVANCED ACCESSORIES LIMITED→ 05000047 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ADVANTAGE CIVIL ENGINEERING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 03820875 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| AE INTERNATIONAL TRADING LIMITED→ 12289728 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1992-06-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46730 — SIC 46730
Registered office
Alpha House
4 Greek Street
Stockport
Cheshire
SK3 8AB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-18
Last: 2025-08-04
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
GUNBY, Carl Thomas→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2006-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GUNBY, Lee James→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 1994-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HUDSON, Frank→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-08-26 · resigned 2011-02-07
CHETTLEBURGH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1992-06-03 · resigned 1992-08-26
DAVIES, Trevor→
Resigneddirector · ~85y · appointed 1992-08-26 · resigned 2006-05-31
GUNBY, Barry→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 1992-08-26 · resigned 2020-04-01
CHETTLEBURGH'S LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1992-06-03 · resigned 1992-08-26
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 | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 11/01/1993 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (108 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-05-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-09-15