ABSOLUTE NETWORKS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04851663 · ltd · incorporated 2003-07-31
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
£305.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of computers, computer peripheral equipment and software
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 22.7y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 22.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
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
74 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £305,175

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£358k
Net Worth
£305k
Current Assets
£504k
Current Liabilities
—
£0£101k£202k£302k£403k£504kJul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Total assets£334.4k—
Current assets£504.1k—
Cash£357.8k—
Debtors£146.3k—
Net assets£305.2k—
Average employees—700

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 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-07
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  5. 2023-09-07
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  6. 2023-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-05-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-06-13
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  13. 2017-05-31
    ➖
    DREW, Lucy Anne Laura resigned
    secretary
  14. 2017-02-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-04-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2016-03-31
    ➖
    LEWIS, Clare Theresa resigned
    secretary
  17. 2016-03-31
    ➖
    LEWIS, Robert Emlyn Willoughby resigned
    director
  18. 2012-04-01
    ➕
    LEWIS, Clare Theresa appointed
    secretary
  19. 2012-04-01
    ➕
    LEWIS, Robert Emlyn Willoughby appointed
    director
  20. 2004-09-10
    ➕
    DREW, Lucy Anne Laura appointed
    secretary
  21. 2004-09-10
    ➖
    HARRISON, Stephanie resigned
    secretary
  22. 2004-09-10
    ➖
    HARRISON, Stephen Richard resigned
    director
  23. 2004-05-01
    ➕
    DREW, Matthew James appointed
    director
  24. 2003-08-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  25. 2003-07-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABSOLUTE NETWORKS LIMITED
  26. 2003-07-31
    ➕
    HARRISON, Stephanie appointed
    secretary
  27. 2003-07-31
    ➕
    HARRISON, Stephen Richard appointed
    director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Matthew James Drew
Individual · British · DOB 03/1972 · age 54
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
Incorporated2003-07-31
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46510 — Wholesale of computers, computer peripheral equipment and software

Registered office

Sixth Floor, The Cavendish Building
1 Agard Street
Derby
DE1 1DZ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-13
Last: 2025-08-30

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

DREW, Matthew James→
director · ~54y · appointed 2004-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DREW, Lucy Anne Laura→
secretary · appointed 2004-09-10 · resigned 2017-05-31
Resigned
HARRISON, Stephanie→
secretary · appointed 2003-07-31 · resigned 2004-09-10
Resigned
LEWIS, Clare Theresa→
secretary · appointed 2012-04-01 · resigned 2016-03-31
Resigned
HARRISON, Stephen Richard→
director · ~77y · appointed 2003-07-31 · resigned 2004-09-10
Resigned
LEWIS, Robert Emlyn Willoughby→
director · ~56y · appointed 2012-04-01 · resigned 2016-03-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Debenture1 property28/08/200307/09/2023

Recent filings (74 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-04-24
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-25