ARBUTUS TECHNICAL CONSULTING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06411168 · ltd · incorporated 2007-10-29
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
£7.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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
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
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £7,105
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,718 YoY
Cash YoY
-20%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£10k
↓ 20% YoY
Net Worth
£7k
↓ 19% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£3k£5k£8k£10k£13kSept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Total assets£7.1k£8.8k
Cash£10.2k£12.7k
Net assets£7.1k£8.8k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-18
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2025-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-31
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2023-07-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-12-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2022-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-06-19
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2020-06-19
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2020-06-19
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2020-06-19
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  15. 2020-06-17
    ➖
    ELLIOTT, Caroline Claire Louise resigned
    secretary
  16. 2020-06-17
    ➖
    ELLIOTT, Caroline Claire Louise resigned
    director
  17. 2020-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-03-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  20. 2011-03-30
    ➕
    ELLIOTT, Caroline Claire Louise appointed
    director
  21. 2007-10-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARBUTUS TECHNICAL CONSULTING LIMITED
  22. 2007-10-29
    ➕
    ELLIOTT, Bruce Jeffrey appointed
    director
  23. 2007-10-29
    ➕
    ELLIOTT, Caroline Claire Louise appointed
    secretary
  24. 2007-10-29
    ➕
    HCS SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2007-10-29
    ➖
    HCS SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2007-10-29
    ➕
    HANOVER DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2007-10-29
    ➖
    HANOVER 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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Bruce Jeffrey Elliott
Individual · English · DOB 01/1959 · age 67
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Caroline Claire Louise Elliottceased 17/06/2020· 25-50% shares

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

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
Incorporated2007-10-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities

Registered office

1 Cricklade Court
Cricklade Street
Swindon
SN1 3EY
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-12
Last: 2025-10-29

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

ELLIOTT, Bruce Jeffrey→
director · ~67y · appointed 2007-10-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ELLIOTT, Caroline Claire Louise→
secretary · appointed 2007-10-29 · resigned 2020-06-17
Resigned
HCS SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-10-29 · resigned 2007-10-29
Resigned
ELLIOTT, Caroline Claire Louise→
director · ~65y · appointed 2011-03-30 · resigned 2020-06-17
Resigned
HANOVER DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-10-29 · resigned 2007-10-29
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-19