A2B-DESIGN LTD

💤Zombieactive
09044510 · ltd · incorporated 2014-05-16
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 May 2016
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
59/100
Worth a look
🔔
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: Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed admin-neglect survivor — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 59/100 (worth a look), bankability 45/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (53/100). Current lenders should be on monthly review.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
17 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
59/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
45
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
49
Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
£17k
↑ 22% YoY
Current Liabilities
£17k
↑ 59% YoY
£0£3k£7k£10k£14k£17kMay 2015May 2016

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · UK GAAP
Metric2016-05-312015-05-31
Total assets£1£3.3k
Current assets£17.4k£14.2k
Debtors£14.1k£11.0k
Current liabilities£17.4k£10.9k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2023-04-13
    📄
    restoration-order-of-court
    restoration · AC92
  2. 2019-11-26
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ2
  3. 2019-11-26
    🏁
    Company dissolved
  4. 2019-07-09
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
  5. 2019-07-09
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  6. 2018-08-30
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
  7. 2018-04-12
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
  8. 2018-03-07
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
  9. 2017-11-10
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
  10. 2017-11-01
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
  11. 2017-09-12
    📄
    gazette-notice-voluntary
    gazette · GAZ1(A)
  12. 2017-09-01
    📄
    dissolution-application-strike-off-company
    dissolution · DS01
  13. 2017-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-06-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-05-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2014-05-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A2B-DESIGN LTD
  18. 2014-05-16
    BIRTLES, Andrew appointed
    director
  19. 2014-05-16
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

88/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 years.

Red flags

2 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2018-02-28

Confirmation statement overdue
high

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

Evidence: Next due: 2018-05-24

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew Birtles
Individual · British · DOB 02/1968 · age 58
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 · CW postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
2 MAGPIES HOLDINGS LTD
13117616 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
5y
3KS PARTNERSHIP LTD
08958505 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
12y
6S PEOPLE AND BUSINESS CONSULTANCY LTD
14757507 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
3y
AAB FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED
05997943 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
19y
AANO LTD
15242103 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
2y
AARON VETS LIMITED
13327943 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
5y
ABBEY ASSOCIATES DESIGN LIMITED
06726518 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
17y
ABSOLUTE COMMERCIAL LIMITED
07868914 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
14y
ABSOLUTE RECRUITMENT UK LIMITED
06728153 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
17y
ABSOLUTE SOLUTIONS GROUP LIMITED
07000743 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
16y
AC HALE CONSULTANCY LTD
16584151 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
ACBRANDS LIMITED
15870304 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

10 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
Incorporated2014-05-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71121 — Engineering design activities for industrial process and production

Registered office

4 Westwood Close
Weston
Crewe
CW2 5GF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2018-02-28OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2016-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2018-05-24OVERDUE
Last: 2017-05-10

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

BIRTLES, Andrew
director · ~58y · appointed 2014-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (17 total)

restoration-order-of-court
restoration · AC92
2023-04-13
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2019-11-26
legacy
miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
2019-07-09
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2019-07-09
legacy
miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
2018-08-30
legacy
miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
2018-04-12
legacy
miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
2018-03-07
legacy
miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
2017-11-10
legacy
miscellaneous · ANNOTATION
2017-11-01
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2017-09-12
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2017-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2017-02-28
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2015-09-04