ABACUS RESERVATIONS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04585744 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-08

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 Dec 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). 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: medium (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

58 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-12-31	2023-12-31
Average employees	200	200

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-09-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-04-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-11-15
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2017-11-15
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2017-09-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-09-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-11-11
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-08-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-12-02
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2002-11-08
🏢
Company incorporated
As ABACUS RESERVATIONS LIMITED
2002-11-08
➕
ASHFORD, Rosemary appointed
secretary
2002-11-08
➕
WILLIAMS, Ian Andrew appointed
director
2002-11-08
➕
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-11-08
➖
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-11-08
➕
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-11-08
➖
WATERLOW NOMINEES 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 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
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.
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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Ian Andrew Williams Individual · British · DOB 09/1968 · age 58	50–75%	50–75%	50-75% shares · 50-75% voting	06/04/2016
Mrs Rosemary Ashford Individual · British · DOB 12/1955 · age 71	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016

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

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A & B CONTRACTORS (DEVON) LIMITED→ 04877448 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
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A1 PRINT & STITCH LIMITED→ 07993627 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
AB SEA SERVICES LTD→ 12012408 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ABICA HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 13873017 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ABLOU FACILITIES LTD→ 11449650 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-11-08

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

28 Alexandra Terrace

Exmouth

Devon

EX8 1BD

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-22

Last: 2025-11-08

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

ASHFORD, Rosemary→

secretary · appointed 2002-11-08

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WILLIAMS, Ian Andrew→

director · ~58y · appointed 2002-11-08

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-08 · resigned 2002-11-08

Resigned

WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-08 · resigned 2002-11-08

Resigned

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