AB DESIGN SOLUTIONS LTD

🌳Matureactive
06056872 · ltd · incorporated 2007-01-18
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2026
Net worth
£9.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Architectural activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

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
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
49 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £9,165
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,763 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£9k
↓ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£57k
↓ 6.3% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£12k£24k£36k£49k£61kJan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2026-01-312025-01-31
Total assets£9.2k£10.9k
Current assets£56.9k£60.7k
Net assets£9.2k£10.9k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-01-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-03
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2022-12-31
    ➖
    MURRELL, Joseph James resigned
    director
  8. 2022-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-10-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2020-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-01-07
    ➕
    MURRELL, Joseph James appointed
    director
  14. 2019-01-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  15. 2018-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2007-01-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AB DESIGN SOLUTIONS LTD
  19. 2007-01-18
    ➕
    BARNES, Matthew Francis appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-01-18
    ➕
    ALLEN, Mark Roy appointed
    director
  21. 2007-01-18
    ➕
    BARNES, Matthew Francis appointed
    director

Owner dependency

68/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

59/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Roy Allen
Individual · British · DOB 07/1975 · age 51
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr Matthew Francis Barnes
Individual · British · DOB 12/1979 · age 47
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated2007-01-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities

Registered office

The Estate Office
Upper Aynho Grounds
Aynho
Oxfordshire
OX17 3AY
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-01
Last: 2026-01-18

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

BARNES, Matthew Francis→
secretary · appointed 2007-01-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ALLEN, Mark Roy→
director · ~51y · appointed 2007-01-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARNES, Matthew Francis→
director · ~47y · appointed 2007-01-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURRELL, Joseph James→
director · ~37y · appointed 2019-01-07 · resigned 2022-12-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (49 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-10-22