AB MARKETING SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06972846 · ltd · incorporated 2009-07-27
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
£5.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 79). 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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
39 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £5,262
Cash YoY
+87%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£11k
↑ 87% YoY
Net Worth
£5k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£12k
↑ 45% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £5.3k | £4.7k |
| Current assets | £12.1k | £8.4k |
| Cash | £10.9k | £5.8k |
| Debtors | £1.2k | £2.5k |
| Net assets | £5.3k | £4.7k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-06📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-06-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-07-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-07-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2009-07-27🏢Company incorporatedAs AB MARKETING SERVICES LIMITED
- 2009-07-27➕BURT, Jill Elizabeth appointedsecretary
- 2009-07-27➕BURT, Alan appointeddirector
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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alan Burt Individual · British · DOB 12/1947 · age 79 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Jill Elizabeth Burtceased 06/11/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · CB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32STRIPES LTD→ 14421892 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 3B PLANT HIRE LTD→ 15956720 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 5 HORIZONS CONSULTING LIMITED→ 13157226 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 7 ADVISORY LIMITED→ 16132619 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 8POWER LIMITED→ 09396640 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| A BOAKE ROBERTS AND COMPANY (HOLDING) LIMITED→ 00052381 · est 1897 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 128y | — | — |
| A/C AVIATION SERVICES LTD→ 11792049 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A&C BURCHALL LIMITED→ 09158038 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ABACUS BUSINESS CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ 08115712 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ABBA M LTD→ 16319005 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABBERTON CONSULTING LIMITED→ 09976186 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ABBEXA LABORATORIES LTD→ 12642513 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-07-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Registered office
Unit 1, Cambridge House Camboro Business Park
Oakington Road, Girton
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire
CB3 0QH
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-10
Last: 2025-07-27
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
BURT, Jill Elizabeth→
Activesecretary · appointed 2009-07-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (39 total)
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-25