A.B. FASHIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03672295 · ltd · incorporated 1998-11-23
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 May 2025
Net worth
£9.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -82% 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 19.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 19.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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, 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, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £9,253
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,576 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 82% YoY
Cash YoY
-82%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£3k
↓ 82% YoY
Net Worth
£9k
↓ 45% YoY
Current Assets
£34k
↓ 29% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £18.4k | £27.5k |
| Current assets | £34.3k | £48.6k |
| Cash | £3.1k | £17.4k |
| Net assets | £9.3k | £16.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-05📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2019-06-04📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2019-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-08📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2006-12-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: 175 Bishopsgate Holdings Limited
- 1999-01-15➕ATHWAL, Manjinder Singh appointeddirector
- 1999-01-14➖CHANDRA NIVASAN, Apputhurai resigneddirector
- 1998-11-23🏢Company incorporatedAs A.B. FASHIONS LIMITED
- 1998-11-23➕ATHWAL, Jaswinder Kaur appointedsecretary
- 1998-11-23➕CHANDRA NIVASAN, Apputhurai appointeddirector
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 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Manjinder Singh Athwal Individual · British · DOB 08/1958 · age 68 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · firm interest | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| 7 EMPIRES BARBER SHOP LTD→ 11621703 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 828 DELIVERY SERVICES LTD→ 11108127 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| A 2 O COACHING LIMITED→ 04718995 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A BEAUTY CLINIC LIMITED→ 17001117 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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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
Incorporated1998-11-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
36a Bradley Road
Slough
Berkshire
SL1 3PP
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-27
Last: 2026-01-13
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
ATHWAL, Jaswinder Kaur→
Activesecretary · appointed 1998-11-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ATHWAL, Manjinder Singh→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 1999-01-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CHANDRA NIVASAN, Apputhurai→
Resigneddirector · ~64y · appointed 1998-11-23 · resigned 1999-01-14
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 | 175 Bishopsgate Holdings 175 Bishopsgate Holdings Limited | Deed of rent deposit | 1 property | 12/12/2006 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (64 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-13