ABW ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
08879378 · ltd · incorporated 2014-02-06
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 2026
Net worth
£305
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
33 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £305
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,405 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£305
↓ 92% YoY
Current Assets
£18k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£4k£7k£11k£14k£18kMar 2025Mar 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2026-03-312025-03-31
Total assets£414£3.7k
Current assets£17.6k£15.9k
Debtors£10.2k£13.1k
Net assets£305£3.7k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-11-24
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2021-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-02-28
    ➖
    WATSON, Alasdair Barry resigned
    secretary
  12. 2018-02-28
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  13. 2017-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-23
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  15. 2017-02-15
    ➕
    PAYNE, Laura Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  16. 2016-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-11-24
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  18. 2014-02-07
    ➕
    WATSON, Alasdair Barry appointed
    secretary
  19. 2014-02-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABW ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED
  20. 2014-02-06
    ➕
    WATSON, Alasdair Barry appointed
    director
  21. 2014-02-06
    ➕
    PAYNE, Laura Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  22. 2014-02-06
    ➖
    PAYNE, Laura Elizabeth resigned
    secretary

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material 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 signal

Multiple 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 12 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alasdair Barry Watson
Individual · British · DOB 03/1978 · age 48
75–100%
—75-100% shares07/02/2017

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

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
Incorporated2014-02-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

Raw Space 111 Gloucester Road
Bishopston
Bristol
BS7 8AT
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-12-31
Last made up to: 2026-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-21
Last: 2026-02-07

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

PAYNE, Laura Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2017-02-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATSON, Alasdair Barry→
director · ~48y · appointed 2014-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PAYNE, Laura Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2014-02-06 · resigned 2014-02-06
Resigned
WATSON, Alasdair Barry→
secretary · appointed 2014-02-07 · resigned 2018-02-28
Resigned

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

Recent filings (33 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-07