ABACUS LETTINGS (SUSSEX) LTD

🌳Matureactive
05375840 · ltd · incorporated 2005-02-25
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees800700

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

4 signals 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
5
filings
  • • 2 capital
  • • 1 resolution
  • • 1 incorporation
Last 180 days
6
filings
  • • 2 capital
  • • 1 resolution
  • • 1 incorporation
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-13
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  2. 2026-05-13
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  3. 2026-05-13
    📄
    capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
    capital · SH10
  4. 2026-04-23
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  5. 2026-04-21
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2026-04-10
    ➕
    MACLEAN, Charlotte Louise appointed
    director
  7. 2025-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2024-08-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2024-08-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2024-08-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2023-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2023-01-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2022-03-02
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2022-03-02
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2021-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2021-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-03-02
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  19. 2021-03-01
    ➖
    BLUESPIRE SOUTH LLP resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2019-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2017-10-19
    ➕
    GILBERT, Jonathan Belton appointed
    director
  22. 2012-03-31
    ➕
    BLUESPIRE SOUTH LLP appointed
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2012-03-31
    ➖
    PETERSONS REGISTRARS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2011-12-15
    ➕
    PETERSONS REGISTRARS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2011-12-15
    ➖
    SHORE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  26. 2010-11-01
    ➕
    GILBERT, Elaine appointed
    director
  27. 2010-11-01
    ➖
    SHORE DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2005-02-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABACUS LETTINGS (SUSSEX) LTD
  29. 2005-02-25
    ➕
    SHORE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  30. 2005-02-25
    ➕
    SHORE DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

73/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Jonathan Belton Gilbert
Individual · British · DOB 06/1952 · age 74
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting31/12/2018
Mrs Elaine Gilbert
Individual · British · DOB 03/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2005-02-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

52 Felpham Road
Felpham
Bognor Regis
West Sussex
PO22 7NZ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-11
Last: 2026-02-25

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

GILBERT, Elaine→
director · ~58y · appointed 2010-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GILBERT, Jonathan Belton→
director · ~74y · appointed 2017-10-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACLEAN, Charlotte Louise→
director · ~33y · appointed 2026-04-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLUESPIRE SOUTH LLP→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2012-03-31 · resigned 2021-03-01
Resigned
PETERSONS REGISTRARS LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2011-12-15 · resigned 2012-03-31
Resigned
SHORE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2005-02-25 · resigned 2011-12-15
Resigned
SHORE DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-02-25 · resigned 2010-11-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2026-05-13
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2026-05-13
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2026-05-13
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-04-23
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-04-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-06