ABC4 LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
09390568 · ltd · incorporated 2015-01-15
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£88.0k
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 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 74). 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 (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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
25 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £87,987
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£88k
↑ 25% YoY
Current Assets
£69k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £88.6k | £70.8k |
| Current assets | £68.7k | £68.2k |
| Net assets | £88.0k | £70.5k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-16📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-16📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2016-02-16📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2016-02-16📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2015-08-01➕THOMAS, Sian appointedsecretary
- 2015-08-01➕THOMAS, Philip Vaughan appointeddirector
- 2015-08-01➖THOMAS, Sian Elizabeth resigneddirector
- 2015-01-15🏢Company incorporatedAs ABC4 LIMITED
- 2015-01-15➕THOMAS, Sian Elizabeth appointeddirector
- 2015-01-15📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Philip Vaughan Thomas Individual · British · DOB 12/1952 · age 74 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Sian Elizabeth Thomas Individual · British · DOB 03/1954 · age 72 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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 · RG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D AVIONICS LTD→ 10571234 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 3P GLOBAL SERVICES LTD→ 10054422 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A&A ADVISORY PARTNERSHIP LTD→ 12523464 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AA ACCOUNTANTS SOUTH LIMITED→ 09341226 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AA INSURANCE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 09438903 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AAP KINGSTON LTD→ 11118237 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AB ENERGY CONSULTING LIMITED→ 08362135 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ABC ANALYSIS LTD→ 15294346 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABIGAIL TALENT SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16765227 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABISOL CONSULTANTS LTD→ 07227877 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ABITOP CONSULTANTS LTD→ 10157536 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ABLE JOURNEYS LTD→ 08030301 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-01-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
Penvose House
Broad Lane
Reading
Berkshire
RG7 6QH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-29
Last: 2026-01-15
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Active
THOMAS, Philip Vaughan→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2015-08-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMAS, Sian Elizabeth→
Resigneddirector · ~72y · appointed 2015-01-15 · resigned 2015-08-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (25 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-25