ABC DESIGNS IN WOOD LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
08002596 · ltd · incorporated 2012-03-22
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
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Turnover
year to Feb 2025
Net worth
£-3.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
69/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Joinery installation
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 43999Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 69/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 69). 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, 2 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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 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
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
69/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £3,297
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,473 YoY
Cash YoY
-3%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£26k
↓ 3.2% YoY
Net Worth
-£3k
↓ 179% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↑ 4.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£3k£3k£9k£16k£22k£28kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-02-282024-02-29
Total assets£-639£8.6k
Current assets£28.4k£27.1k
Cash£26.3k£27.1k
Debtors£2.1k
Net assets£-3.3k£4.2k

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 (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-04-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2018-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-11-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-04-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-11-10
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2015-11-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2015-11-09
    DOWD, Jonathan Charles appointed
    director
  16. 2015-11-09
    DOWD, Jonathan Charles resigned
    director
  17. 2015-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2015-03-16
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  19. 2015-03-01
    DOWD, Jonathan Charles appointed
    director
  20. 2015-03-01
    GREENWOOD, Colin James William resigned
    director
  21. 2012-03-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABC DESIGNS IN WOOD LIMITED
  22. 2012-03-22
    GREENWOOD, Colin James William appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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: 2026-03-15

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Jonathan Charles Dowd
Individual · British · DOB 11/1957 · age 69
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · firm interest06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2012-03-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43320 — Joinery installation

Registered office

52 Smithbrook Kilns
Cranleigh
Surrey
GU6 8JJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-03-15OVERDUE
Last: 2025-03-01

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

DOWD, Jonathan Charles
director · ~69y · appointed 2015-11-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOWD, Jonathan Charles
director · ~69y · appointed 2015-03-01 · resigned 2015-11-09
Resigned
GREENWOOD, Colin James William
director · ~45y · appointed 2012-03-22 · resigned 2015-03-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (42 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-25