ABLETECH ELECTRONICS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04896444 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-11
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£3.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 27900
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 (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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
58 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £3,904
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,398 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£4k
↓ 26% YoY
Current Assets
£14k
↑ 4.3% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £4.4k | £5.8k |
| Current assets | £14.0k | £13.4k |
| Net assets | £3.9k | £5.3k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-11-07➖WOOD, Gregory William resignedsecretary
- 2003-09-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ABLETECH ELECTRONICS LIMITED
- 2003-09-11➕WOOD, Stephen Paul appointeddirector
- 2003-09-11➕WOOD, Gregory William appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. 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 23 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
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Stephen Paul Wood Individual · British · DOB 03/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 31/10/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| AIR CARE PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 02602939 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
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| AIRKNIVES UK LTD→ 12691527 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AK FIBREGLASSING LTD→ 15334830 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AKA ENERGY LIMITED→ 16363042 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALFRESCO SYSTEMS (UK) LTD→ 16495091 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-09-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC27900 — SIC 27900
Registered office
47 Margaret Road
Colchester
CO1 1RZ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-14
Last: 2025-08-31
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
WOOD, Stephen Paul→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-09-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WOOD, Gregory William→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-09-11 · resigned 2014-11-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (58 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-01
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-18