ABO LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02736778 · ltd · incorporated 1992-08-03
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
£-6.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -92% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 28.0y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 28.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
74 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £6,042
Cash draining
Cash down 92% YoY
Cash YoY
-92%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£841
↓ 92% YoY
Net Worth
-£6k
↓ 1009% YoY
Current Assets
£15k
↑ 26% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-6.0k | £-545 |
| Current assets | £14.7k | £11.7k |
| Cash | £841 | £10.6k |
| Debtors | £11.9k | £1.0k |
| Net assets | £-6.0k | £-545 |
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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-16📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2023-03-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 1998-07-10🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lombard North Central PLC
- 1992-08-03🏢Company incorporatedAs ABO LIMITED
- 1992-08-03➕TICEHURST, Yvonne Muriel appointedsecretary
- 1992-08-03➕BUCHANAN, David Robert appointeddirector
- 1992-08-03➕THOMAS, Howard appointednominee-secretary
- 1992-08-03➖THOMAS, Howard resignednominee-secretary
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Robert Buchanan Individual · British · DOB 09/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A NICE DROP LIMITED→ 14359613 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALETHEIA MEDIA LIMITED→ 14281074 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALLY LABS LIMITED→ 09864498 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ALPHACRAFT LIMITED→ 12425060 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALTAIRA SERVICES LIMITED→ 14907922 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALTERING LTD→ 15541312 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALTERRA SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 10199814 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALTU SERVICES LIMITED→ 16988262 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALWAYS CINEMATIC LTD→ 16353821 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMADEUS IT SERVICES UK LIMITED→ 02276684 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 37y | — | — |
| AMELIORIS CONSULTING LTD→ 07621156 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AMH INDUSTRIES LIMITED→ 08476844 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1992-08-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
20 Timberlands Timberlands
Storrington
Pulborough
RH20 3NF
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-17
Last: 2025-08-03
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
TICEHURST, Yvonne Muriel→
Activesecretary · appointed 1992-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BUCHANAN, David Robert→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 1992-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMAS, Howard→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1992-08-03 · resigned 1992-08-03
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 | Lombard North Central Lombard North Central PLC | Aircraft mortgage | 1 property | 10/07/1998 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (74 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-24
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-03-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-11