ABC FENCING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
08064822 · ltd · incorporated 2012-05-10
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
£1.06M
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 11.7y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £1,056,274
Net assets shrinking
Down £75,858 YoY
Cash YoY
-28%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£677k
↓ 28% YoY
Net Worth
£1.1m
↓ 6.7% YoY
Current Assets
£1.5m
↓ 9.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.07M | £1.18M |
| Current assets | £1.53M | £1.70M |
| Cash | £677.0k | £934.8k |
| Debtors | £782.9k | £693.8k |
| Net assets | £1.06M | £1.13M |
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
4
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
4
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
6
filings
- • 3 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-21📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-05-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-04-29📄replacement-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP01CS01
- 2026-01-16📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-05-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-17📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-05-14➖ROWE, Nicholas Ian resigneddirector
- 2020-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-01➕ROWE, Nicholas Ian appointeddirector
- 2019-04-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-03-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2014-09-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Santander UK PLC (As Security Trustee)
- 2012-05-10🏢Company incorporatedAs ABC FENCING LIMITED
- 2012-05-10➕CUNNINGHAM, Alan Bernard appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Clare Cunningham Individual · British · DOB 02/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/10/2025 |
Mr Alan Bernard Cunningham Individual · British · DOB 12/1971 · age 55 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 01/09/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Alan Bernard Cunninghamceased 01/05/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 OLD SCHOOL HOUSE LTD→ 13252764 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 34 RED HOUSE LTD→ 13340843 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 360 HEATING LTD→ 09007408 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| 360 MECHANICAL LTD→ 14213875 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A.D PLUMBING & DRAINAGE LTD→ 14505483 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1Z CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 11982853 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AB INTERIOR FINISHES LTD→ 13516089 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABAMR3 LTD→ 13760519 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABBOTS CARE PROPERTY LIMITED→ 14026737 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABEL STREET LIMITED→ 11822032 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE IRRIGATION LTD→ 15968370 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AC-SQD LTD→ 10655249 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 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
Incorporated2012-05-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Coursers Farm Coursers Road
Colney Heath
St. Albans
AL4 0PG
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-24
Last: 2026-05-10
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
CUNNINGHAM, Alan Bernard→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2012-05-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ROWE, Nicholas Ian→
Resigneddirector · ~59y · appointed 2019-04-01 · resigned 2021-05-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Santander Santander UK PLC (As Security Trustee) | A registered charge | — | 18/09/2014 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (44 total)
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-21
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-05-11
replacement-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP01CS01
2026-04-29
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-16