ABBEY SIGNS & ENGRAVERS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04997570 · ltd · incorporated 2003-12-17
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
£4.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
58 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £4,201

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£4k
↑ 61% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↓ 48% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£973£2k£3k£4k£5kJan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2026-01-312025-01-31
Total assets£4.2k£2.6k
Current assets£2.6k£4.9k
Net assets£4.2k£2.6k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-02-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  11. 2019-02-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2019-01-31
    ➖
    SPEIGHT, Alexander William John resigned
    director
  13. 2018-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-11-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-12-31
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2011-02-25
    ➕
    SPEIGHT, Alexander William John appointed
    director
  18. 2008-05-30
    ➖
    ANDREWS, James Stephen resigned
    director
  19. 2003-12-22
    ➕
    COOPER, Christopher John appointed
    secretary
  20. 2003-12-22
    ➕
    COOPER, Christopher John appointed
    director
  21. 2003-12-22
    ➕
    ANDREWS, James Stephen appointed
    director
  22. 2003-12-19
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-12-19
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2003-12-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABBEY SIGNS & ENGRAVERS LIMITED
  25. 2003-12-17
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-12-17
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-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 22 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Christopher John Cooper
Individual · British · DOB 06/1976 · age 50
25–50%
—25-50% shares01/12/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Alexander William John Speightceased 31/01/2019· 25-50% shares

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 · Manufacturing · YO postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
10SQUARED LIMITED→
05174578 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
————21y——
A LIVING THING LTD.→
15609915 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
A.J.STEEL FABRICATIONS LIMITED→
04251895 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
A1 MICROWAVE LIMITED→
04937851 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
ABBEY JET LTD→
10260569 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
ABINGDON HEALTH PLC→
06475379 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————18y——
ACASTER FORGE LTD→
09711669 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
ACTIVE TRANSDUCER RESEARCH LIMITED→
10982059 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
ADAPTABOX LIMITED→
16257649 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ADDINALL INTERIORS LIMITED→
12178768 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
ADY 1 LIMITED→
07753032 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
AEG (YORK) LTD→
08575574 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————12y——
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
Incorporated2003-12-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

59 Foxwood Lane
York
YO24 3LQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-03
Last: 2025-10-20

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

COOPER, Christopher John→
secretary · appointed 2003-12-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COOPER, Christopher John→
director · ~50y · appointed 2003-12-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-12-17 · resigned 2003-12-19
Resigned
ANDREWS, James Stephen→
director · ~54y · appointed 2003-12-22 · resigned 2008-05-30
Resigned
SPEIGHT, Alexander William John→
director · ~53y · appointed 2011-02-25 · resigned 2019-01-31
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-12-17 · resigned 2003-12-19
Resigned

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
2026-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-06