ABSORBENT PRODUCTS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03532220 · ltd · incorporated 1998-03-20
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.
🔒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: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 75). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
72 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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
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
- 2025-12-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-24📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2018-12-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-12-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2011-03-20➖BAINES, Albert Colin resigneddirector
- 2011-03-20➖MARSON, Neil resigneddirector
- 1998-04-06➕THOMSON, Gordon Hounam appointedsecretary
- 1998-04-06➕THOMSON, Gordon Hounam appointeddirector
- 1998-04-06➖BRIGHTON SECRETARY LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-04-06➕BAINES, Albert Colin appointeddirector
- 1998-04-06➕MARSON, Neil appointeddirector
- 1998-04-06➖BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-03-20🏢Company incorporatedAs ABSORBENT PRODUCTS LIMITED
- 1998-03-20➕BRIGHTON SECRETARY LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-03-20➕BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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 Gordon Hounam Thomson Individual · British · DOB 03/1951 · age 75 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% 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
Active · Manufacturing · DL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/7 CASTCRETE LTD→ 16966312 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24/7 FABRICATION LTD→ 16966201 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A FAB LIMITED→ 10847647 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACCESS LADDERS (UK) LIMITED→ 02983939 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ACORN ALARMS LTD→ 06448995 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ADTY LIMITED→ 16324503 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADVANCE AUTOMATED SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 04905449 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ADVANCE CENTRAL ENGINEERING LTD→ 13093862 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ADVANCE CONVEYOR GROUP LTD→ 14989260 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADVANCE MODULAR LTD→ 12722812 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ADVANCED COOLING SYSTEMS LTD→ 09904399 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADVANCED ENERGY MINERALS (UK) LIMITED→ 12768286 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated1998-03-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Registered office
Moorfields
Cotherstone
Barnard Castle
DL12 9PJ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-03
Last: 2026-03-20
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
THOMSON, Gordon Hounam→
Activesecretary · appointed 1998-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMSON, Gordon Hounam→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 1998-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-03-20 · resigned 1998-04-06
BAINES, Albert Colin→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 1998-04-06 · resigned 2011-03-20
MARSON, Neil→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 1998-04-06 · resigned 2011-03-20
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-03-20 · resigned 1998-04-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (72 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-09-25