ABACUS BUILD LTD

💤Zombieactive
05292007 · ltd · incorporated 2004-11-19
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
67/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of commercial buildings
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 41202Construction of domestic buildings
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 67/100 (strong), bankability 50/100. 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: strategic trade sale (45/100).

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, 2 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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
67/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
50
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Nov 2023Nov 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-11-302023-11-30
Average employees15001300

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-11-21
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  5. 2022-11-22
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2022-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-09-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-05-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-05-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2019-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-11-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2018-11-20
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  14. 2018-11-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2018-10-31
    ➖
    COTTEE, Gary Mark resigned
    secretary
  16. 2018-10-31
    ➖
    COTTEE, Gary Mark resigned
    director
  17. 2018-08-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2004-11-22
    ➖
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2004-11-22
    ➖
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  21. 2004-11-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABACUS BUILD LTD
  22. 2004-11-19
    ➕
    STRINGER, Andrew Timothy appointed
    director
  23. 2004-11-19
    ➕
    COTTEE, Gary Mark appointed
    secretary
  24. 2004-11-19
    ➕
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2004-11-19
    ➕
    COTTEE, Gary Mark appointed
    director
  26. 2004-11-19
    ➕
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR 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

1 med ·
Has insolvency history
medium

Companies House flags prior insolvency events. Review the insolvency filings for context.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew Stringer
Individual · British · DOB 12/1972 · age 54
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Gary Cotteeceased 14/09/2018· 25-50% shares

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

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15204924 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
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04164123 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————25y——
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06654662 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————17y——
A C P WOODWORKING LIMITED→
04848344 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
A CLASS ROOFING & BUILDING SERVICES LTD→
10683738 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
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11886249 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————7y——
A2Z SAFETY LTD→
12531050 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
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AA ELECTRICAL AND MAINTENANCE LIMITED→
16341744 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
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AA SCAFFOLDING (ESSEX) LTD→
15310891 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
ABAGNALE LTD→
16650312 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ABBOTTS CARPENTRY LIMITED→
07119744 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————16y——
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
Incorporated2004-11-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC41201 — Construction of commercial buildings

Registered office

Unit 22 Peartree Business Centre Peartree Road
Stanway
Colchester
CO3 0JN
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-26
Last: 2025-11-12

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

STRINGER, Andrew Timothy→
director · ~54y · appointed 2004-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COTTEE, Gary Mark→
secretary · appointed 2004-11-19 · resigned 2018-10-31
Resigned
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-11-19 · resigned 2004-11-22
Resigned
COTTEE, Gary Mark→
director · ~60y · appointed 2004-11-19 · resigned 2018-10-31
Resigned
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-11-19 · resigned 2004-11-22
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-29
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-14
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2022-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-05-21