ACCESSORY BITS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04882698 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-01
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
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 6 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
10 live charges · 6 lenders · oldest 22.7y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 22.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 6 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 40/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
10 charges (10/10 with lender, 10/10 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (3 active, 10 linked, 6 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
88 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1300 | 1400 |
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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (53 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #9
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #7
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #5
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2024-11-01🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2024-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-21📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-08-19🔒Charge registered #10Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
- 2024-04-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-16📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-05-10🔒Charge registered #9Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
- 2021-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-23📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2020-04-14➖GITTOS, Anthony resignedsecretary
- 2019-09-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-23➕GITTOS, Anthony appointedsecretary
- 2018-11-23➖MCKENZIE, Paul John resignedsecretary
- 2018-05-04➖STOTESBURY, Paul Allen resigneddirector
- 2018-05-03🔒Charge registered #8Lender: Foresight Vct PLC
- 2018-05-03🔒Charge registered #7Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2017-05-31➕MCKENZIE, Paul John appointeddirector
- 2016-09-26➕MCKENZIE, Paul John appointedsecretary
- 2015-12-04🔒Charge registered #6Lender: Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD
- 2015-11-30➕MOATE, Simon Richard appointeddirector
- 2015-11-30➕WILSON, Alan appointeddirector
- 2015-11-30➖LAWRY, Maryon Eva resignedsecretary
- 2015-11-30➖LAWRY, Ian resigneddirector
- 2015-11-30➖LAWRY, Maryon Eva resigneddirector
- 2015-11-30➕STOTESBURY, Paul Allen appointeddirector
- 2015-09-09🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2015-09-09🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Foresight Vct PLC (Security Agent)
- 2012-04-24🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD ("the Security Holder")
- 2012-04-13🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2006-05-05➕LAWRY, Maryon Eva appointedsecretary
- 2006-05-05➕LAWRY, Maryon Eva appointeddirector
- 2006-03-31➖WHITE ROSE FORMATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-09-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
Showing most recent 50 of 53 events
Owner dependency
65/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Group structure
Abl Investments Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Abl Investments Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
ACCESSORY BITS LIMITED
This company · 04882698
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Abl Investments Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · NN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2BROTHER4OLIVES UK LTD→ 15806323 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 3 STAR PACKAGING LTD→ 09457092 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| 360 FOOD PARTNERS (BUY) LTD→ 17116157 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 360 FOOD PARTNERS (PROCUREMENT) LIMITED→ 15750039 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 99T SPECIALIST SERVICES LIMITED→ 11637514 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A K BIOMEDICAL & HEALTHCARE LIMITED→ 16870038 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AACS HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 11181560 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ABSIMPLYTEXTILE LTD→ 14545066 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AC GROUNDWORKS CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 10830472 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACE AGGREGATES LTD→ 14905372 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACUMEN TRADING LIMITED→ 05730815 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACURVE TREND LTD→ 16594062 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-09-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade
Registered office
A6 Wellingborough Road
Sywell
Northampton
NN6 0BN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-25
Last: 2025-12-11
Officers (3 active · 7 resigned)
MCKENZIE, Paul John→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2017-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MOATE, Simon Richard→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2015-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WILSON, Alan→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2015-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GITTOS, Anthony→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2018-11-23 · resigned 2020-04-14
LAWRY, Maryon Eva→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-05-05 · resigned 2015-11-30
MCKENZIE, Paul John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2016-09-26 · resigned 2018-11-23
WHITE ROSE FORMATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-09-01 · resigned 2006-03-31
LAWRY, Ian→
Resigneddirector · ~68y · appointed 2003-09-01 · resigned 2015-11-30
LAWRY, Maryon Eva→
Resigneddirector · ~72y · appointed 2006-05-05 · resigned 2015-11-30
STOTESBURY, Paul Allen→
Resigneddirector · ~68y · appointed 2015-11-30 · resigned 2018-05-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
10
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:10 of 10 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc UK Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 19/08/2024 | — | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc UK Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 10/05/2022 | 01/11/2024 | |
| outstanding | Foresight Vct Foresight Vct PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 03/05/2018 | — | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 03/05/2018 | 01/11/2024 | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD | A registered charge | — | 04/12/2015 | — | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 09/09/2015 | 01/11/2024 | |
| satisfied | Foresight Vct (Security Agent) Foresight Vct PLC (Security Agent) | A registered charge | — | 09/09/2015 | 01/11/2024 | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD ("the Security Holder") | Floating charge (all assets) | 1 property | 24/04/2012 | 01/11/2024 | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Legal assignment of contract monies | 1 property | 13/04/2012 | 01/11/2024 | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 22/09/2003 | 01/11/2024 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (88 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-21
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-08-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-04-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-09-29