ABBEY ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04366465 · ltd · incorporated 2002-02-04
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
£1.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Electrical installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed construction with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 64). Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -38% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
69 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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 £1,229
Cash YoY
-38%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£5k
↓ 38% YoY
Net Worth
£1k
↑ 106% YoY
Current Assets
£50k
↑ 9.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£10k£20k£30k£40k£50kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£3.1k£5.1k
Current assets£50.1k£45.9k
Cash£4.8k£7.7k
Debtors£38.6k£35.5k
Net assets£1.2k£598

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-08-09
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  5. 2023-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-02-15
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  13. 2016-05-10
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  14. 2016-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-09-01
    ➖
    COVE, Helen resigned
    director
  17. 2004-09-01
    ➕
    INDIGO SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  18. 2004-09-01
    ➖
    ALDBURY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  19. 2002-12-17
    ➕
    COVE, Helen appointed
    director
  20. 2002-12-17
    ➖
    GARDNER, Andrew resigned
    director
  21. 2002-12-17
    ➖
    WILES, Robert resigned
    director
  22. 2002-04-18
    ➕
    GARDNER, Andrew appointed
    director
  23. 2002-02-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABBEY ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS LIMITED
  24. 2002-02-04
    ➕
    COVE, Mark appointed
    director
  25. 2002-02-04
    ➕
    ALDBURY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2002-02-04
    ➕
    WILES, Robert appointed
    director
  27. 2002-02-04
    ➕
    ALDBURY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2002-02-04
    ➖
    ALDBURY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-07-10

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Cove
Individual · British · DOB 12/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting01/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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ACCURATE PLASTERING SOLUTION LTD→
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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
Incorporated2002-02-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43210 — Electrical installation

Registered office

3 Kensworth Gate
200-204 High Street South
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
LU6 3HS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-10OVERDUE
Last: 2025-06-26

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

INDIGO SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2004-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COVE, Mark→
director · ~64y · appointed 2002-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ALDBURY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-02-04 · resigned 2004-09-01
Resigned
COVE, Helen→
director · ~62y · appointed 2002-12-17 · resigned 2012-09-01
Resigned
GARDNER, Andrew→
director · ~60y · appointed 2002-04-18 · resigned 2002-12-17
Resigned
WILES, Robert→
director · ~57y · appointed 2002-02-04 · resigned 2002-12-17
Resigned
ALDBURY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-02-04 · resigned 2002-02-04
Resigned

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

Recent filings (69 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-10
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-06