ABACUS BOWMAN LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07864333 · ltd · incorporated 2011-11-29
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 Dec 2025
Net worth
£432
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -92% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
34 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £432
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,022 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 92% YoY
Cash YoY
-92%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£128
↓ 92% YoY
Net Worth
£432
↓ 70% YoY
Current Assets
£628
↓ 63% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £432 | £1.5k |
| Current assets | £628 | £1.7k |
| Cash | £128 | £1.7k |
| Debtors | £500 | £0 |
| Net assets | £432 | £1.5k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 1 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-01-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-03-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-11-29🏢Company incorporatedAs ABACUS BOWMAN LIMITED
- 2011-11-29➕BOWMAN, John Reid 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BOWMAN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
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 70 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 14 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Reid Bowman Individual · British · DOB 04/1956 · age 70 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 29/11/2016 |
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 · Professional services · BA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B ASSOCIATES LTD→ 10529512 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 3APM LTD→ 11536092 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 613 CONSULTANCY LTD→ 14527610 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 986 LIMITED→ 09651856 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A4 ASBESTOS GROUP LIMITED→ 13043138 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AAA SERVICES & SOLUTIONS LTD→ 15941379 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AARDMAN ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 05135520 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| AB PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY LTD→ 15396193 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AB WEALTH MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 12339888 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABACUS TAX SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16137132 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABBED LTD→ 12360757 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABBEVILLE CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 13947958 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-11-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
23 Henrietta Gardens
Bath
BA2 6NA
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-13
Last: 2025-11-29
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
BOWMAN, John Reid→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2011-11-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (34 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-05
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-02-27