ABSOLUTE SIGNS LTD

💤Zombieactive
07562235 · ltd · incorporated 2011-03-14
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
72/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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

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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-12-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-03-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-11-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-04-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-03-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-11-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2011-03-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABSOLUTE SIGNS LTD
  18. 2011-03-14
    RALF, Martin appointed
    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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

83/100
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 68. 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 15 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-23

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Martin Ralf
Individual · British · DOB 08/1958 · age 68
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · GU postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
1 BRICKIN PLACE LTD
11799966 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
7y
1ST MILLENNIUM ELECTRONICS LIMITED
03788514 · est 1999 · no financials extracted
26y
3 BROTHERS FENCING & LANDSCAPING LTD
16324620 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
1y
40PARTS LTD
16221557 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
1y
4FORTHECULTURE. LTD
15553880 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
2y
A & E HYDRAULICS LTD
08782351 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
12y
A AND L MOORINGS LIMITED
16554468 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
A3P LTD
13655409 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
4y
AALTO HAPS LIMITED
13925802 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
4y
ABSOLUTE AROMAS LIMITED
02968674 · est 1994 · no financials extracted
31y
ABTECH PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED
03956270 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
26y
ABUS CRANE SYSTEMS LIMITED
02591463 · est 1991 · no financials extracted
35y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated2011-03-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

5 Farnham Business Centre
Dogflud Way Dogflud Way
Farnham
GU9 7UP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-03-23OVERDUE
Last: 2025-03-09

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

RALF, Martin
director · ~68y · appointed 2011-03-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (29 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-11-20