ABELL SERVICES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03800939 · ltd · incorporated 1999-07-05
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
79 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

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-31
Average employees100

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-27
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  2. 2026-01-23
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2026-01-01
    ➕
    ZAVADSKA, Inga appointed
    director
  4. 2025-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-08-29
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2024-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-08-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2021-08-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2020-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-03-11
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  15. 2020-01-28
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2019-04-01
    ➖
    SWALLOW, Ann resigned
    director
  17. 2019-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-01-23
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2018-10-10
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  20. 2018-04-01
    ➖
    ABELL MORLISS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2017-04-01
    ➕
    SWALLOW, Ann appointed
    director
  22. 2016-04-01
    ➕
    ABELL MORLISS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2016-04-01
    ➖
    SWALLOW, Ann resigned
    director
  24. 2011-06-06
    ➖
    ABELL MORLISS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2002-10-23
    ➕
    SWALLOW, Ann appointed
    director
  26. 1999-07-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABELL SERVICES LIMITED
  27. 1999-07-05
    ➕
    SWALLOW, James Malcolm appointed
    director
  28. 1999-07-05
    ➕
    ABELL MORLISS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary

Owner dependency

83/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

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 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Malcolm Swallow
Individual · British · DOB 03/1956 · age 70
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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
Incorporated1999-07-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

128 Cannon Workshops
Cannon Drive
London
E14 4AS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-30
Last: 2026-01-16

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

SWALLOW, James Malcolm→
director · ~70y · appointed 1999-07-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ZAVADSKA, Inga→
director · ~42y · appointed 2026-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ABELL MORLISS NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2016-04-01 · resigned 2018-04-01
Resigned
ABELL MORLISS NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1999-07-05 · resigned 2011-06-06
Resigned
SWALLOW, Ann→
director · ~72y · appointed 2017-04-01 · resigned 2019-04-01
Resigned
SWALLOW, Ann→
director · ~72y · appointed 2002-10-23 · resigned 2016-04-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (79 total)

accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2026-04-27
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-28
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-08-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-08-24