ABSOLUTE STRATEGY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05727407 · ltd · incorporated 2006-03-02
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueDormant / non-trading with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), 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 (77/100)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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
54 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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-14📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2023-03-14📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-03-02➕HARNETT, Ian Richard, Dr appointedsecretary
- 2023-03-02➖HARNETT, Sara Patricia resignedsecretary
- 2022-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2006-03-02🏢Company incorporatedAs ABSOLUTE STRATEGY LIMITED
- 2006-03-02➕HARNETT, Ian Richard, Dr appointeddirector
- 2006-03-02➕HARNETT, Sara Patricia appointedsecretary
- 2006-03-02➕SDG SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-03-02➖SDG SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-03-02➕SDG REGISTRARS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2006-03-02➖SDG REGISTRARS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
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 20 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 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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
cleanNo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr Ian Richard Harnett Individual · British · DOB 04/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Holding company · CB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 COLEY HILL MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 05161517 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| 57 HIGH STREET (MANAGEMENT) LIMITED→ 09745137 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 92B CHER MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 17128413 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A DE SIMONE INVESTMENTS LTD→ 08743433 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ABBEY COURT (CAMBRIDGE) FREEHOLD LIMITED→ 11754115 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABBEY INVESTMENT GROUP LTD→ 15693767 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABBEY PLACE (FORDHAM) MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 07575607 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ABBEY WALK (SWINESHEAD) MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 10870441 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ABILITY PLUS LIMITED→ 07833482 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ABINGTON ESTATE MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 01881599 · est 1985 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| ABP CONSULTANCY PROPERTIES LTD→ 10745804 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AC TIMBER PACKS LTD→ 15576819 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2006-03-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
Registered office
Salisbury House
Station Road
Cambridge
CB1 2LA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-16
Last: 2026-03-02
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
HARNETT, Ian Richard, Dr→
Activesecretary · appointed 2023-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARNETT, Ian Richard, Dr→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2006-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARNETT, Sara Patricia→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-03-02 · resigned 2023-03-02
SDG SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-03-02 · resigned 2006-03-02
SDG REGISTRARS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-03-02 · resigned 2006-03-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (54 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-14
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2023-03-14
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-03