ABLECLEAN CONTRACT SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
04786610 · ltd · incorporated 2003-06-04
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other cleaning services
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 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

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-052024-04-05
Average employees00

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-05
    ➕
    HARRIS, Sandra Anne appointed
    secretary
  4. 2024-12-05
    ➖
    MONKS, Christine Anne resigned
    secretary
  5. 2024-12-05
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  6. 2024-12-05
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  7. 2024-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-06-11
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2019-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-06-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2015-06-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  19. 2003-06-10
    ➕
    HOTCHKISS, Joseph Duncan appointed
    director
  20. 2003-06-10
    ➕
    MONKS, Christine Anne appointed
    secretary
  21. 2003-06-09
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2003-06-09
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2003-06-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABLECLEAN CONTRACT SERVICES LTD
  24. 2003-06-04
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-06-04
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
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 61. 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 23 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 Joseph Duncan Hotchkiss
Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2003-06-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC81299 — Other cleaning services

Registered office

57 Bifield
Orton Goldhay
Peterborough
Cambridgeshire
PE2 5SN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-05
Last made up to: 2025-04-05
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-18
Last: 2025-06-04

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

HARRIS, Sandra Anne→
secretary · appointed 2024-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOTCHKISS, Joseph Duncan→
director · ~61y · appointed 2003-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MONKS, Christine Anne→
secretary · appointed 2003-06-10 · resigned 2024-12-05
Resigned
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-06-04 · resigned 2003-06-09
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-06-04 · resigned 2003-06-09
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-21
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-12-05
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-01-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-11
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-06-11