ABACUS MCTA LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

05217260 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-31

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 Aug 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Business and domestic software development

Sector: Information & communication

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

58 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

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
Average employees	100	100

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2026-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-09-11
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2017-06-06
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2017-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-12-20
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2016-11-22
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2016-05-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2008-06-27
➖
MCLEOD, James Ian resigned
secretary
2008-06-22
➖
JOHNSON, Neil Harry resigned
director
2004-08-31
🏢
Company incorporated
As ABACUS MCTA LIMITED
2004-08-31
➕
MCLEOD, James Ian appointed
director
2004-08-31
➕
MCLEOD, James Ian appointed
secretary
2004-08-31
➕
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-31
➖
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-31
➕
JOHNSON, Neil Harry appointed
director
2004-08-31
➕
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-08-31
➖
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr James Ian Mcleod Individual · British · DOB 08/1946 · age 80	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	31/08/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Technology · B postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
802 SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16164242 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
854 MEDIA LIMITED→ 12195415 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
A CLASS MUSIC LTD→ 13984453 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
AARNA PRIVATE LIMITED→ 09538958 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ABBAS AHMED CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16983918 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABC PUBLISHERS LIMITED→ 03471222 · est 1997 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	28y	—	—
ABILITY2CODE LIMITED→ 09212051 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
AC CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ 13576193 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ACADEME IT LIMITED→ 11391521 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ACCESS IT SOLUTIONS (UK) LIMITED→ 08177327 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
ACCESS PROGRESS TECHNOLOGIES LTD→ 14957854 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ACCOUNT ONE LIMITED→ 12979220 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—

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

Incorporated2004-08-31

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

Coomassie House

7 Holt Road

Studley

B80 7NX

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 · 4 resigned)

MCLEOD, James Ian→

director · ~80y · appointed 2004-08-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCLEOD, James Ian→

secretary · appointed 2004-08-31 · resigned 2008-06-27

Resigned

TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-31 · resigned 2004-08-31

Resigned

JOHNSON, Neil Harry→

director · ~66y · appointed 2004-08-31 · resigned 2008-06-22

Resigned

COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-31 · resigned 2004-08-31

Resigned

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