ACTIVE BUSINESS TRAINING LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03760836 · ltd · incorporated 1999-04-28
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£405
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 85600Educational support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 88-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 88). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -93% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
92 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £405
Net assets shrinking
Down £2,087 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 93% YoY
Cash YoY
-93%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£270
↓ 93% YoY
Net Worth
£405
↓ 84% YoY
Current Assets
£1k
↓ 73% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£976£2k£3k£4k£5kAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£405£2.5k
Current assets£1.3k£4.9k
Cash£270£3.8k
Debtors£1.1k£1.1k
Net assets£405£2.5k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-05-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2019-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-04-04
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2019-04-04
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2019-04-04
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2019-04-04
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  14. 2018-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2007-06-25
    ➖
    NICHOLSON, Graham Thomas resigned
    director
  17. 2002-11-27
    ➖
    MAY, Timothy Martin resigned
    director
  18. 1999-11-08
    ➕
    DE HORSEY, Michael William John appointed
    director
  19. 1999-11-08
    ➕
    NICHOLSON, Thomas Alastair John, Professor appointed
    director
  20. 1999-11-08
    ➕
    MAY, Timothy Martin appointed
    director
  21. 1999-09-29
    ➕
    SCHIRN, John Anthony appointed
    secretary
  22. 1999-09-29
    ➕
    SCHIRN, John Anthony appointed
    director
  23. 1999-09-29
    ➖
    TEMPLES (NOMINEES) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1999-09-29
    ➕
    NICHOLSON, Graham Thomas appointed
    director
  25. 1999-09-29
    ➖
    TEMPLES (PROFESSIONAL SERVICES) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 1999-04-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACTIVE BUSINESS TRAINING LIMITED
  27. 1999-04-28
    ➕
    TEMPLES (NOMINEES) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1999-04-28
    ➕
    TEMPLES (PROFESSIONAL SERVICES) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 88 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 88 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Professor Thomas Alastair John Nicholson
Individual · British · DOB 11/1938 · age 88
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr John Anthony Schirn
Individual · British · DOB 09/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated1999-04-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

4 Reading Road
Pangbourne
Reading
Berkshire
RG8 7LY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-17
Last: 2026-04-03

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

SCHIRN, John Anthony→
secretary · appointed 1999-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DE HORSEY, Michael William John→
director · ~55y · appointed 1999-11-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NICHOLSON, Thomas Alastair John, Professor→
director · ~88y · appointed 1999-11-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCHIRN, John Anthony→
director · ~60y · appointed 1999-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TEMPLES (NOMINEES) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-04-28 · resigned 1999-09-29
Resigned
MAY, Timothy Martin→
director · ~66y · appointed 1999-11-08 · resigned 2002-11-27
Resigned
NICHOLSON, Graham Thomas→
director · ~58y · appointed 1999-09-29 · resigned 2007-06-25
Resigned
TEMPLES (PROFESSIONAL SERVICES) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-04-28 · resigned 1999-09-29
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (92 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-04
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-05-01