ARBUTUS SYSTEMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
10057425 · ltd · incorporated 2016-03-11
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£3.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueStrong 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. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (65/100).
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, 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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
23 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 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £3,700
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£4k
Current Assets
£36k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £26.2k | — |
| Current assets | £36.4k | — |
| Net assets | £3.7k | — |
| Average employees | — | 200 |
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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (16 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-10-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2016-05-25➕HICKEY, Damian appointeddirector
- 2016-05-25📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2016-03-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ARBUTUS SYSTEMS LIMITED
- 2016-03-11➕CULLEN, Grainne appointeddirector
- 2016-03-11📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
63/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
41/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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 Damian Hickey Individual · Irish · DOB 08/1969 · age 57 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 15/03/2017 |
Ms Grainne Cullen Individual · Irish · DOB 01/1970 · age 56 | 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.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · SG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A RUNNING COMMENTARY PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 16579570 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMALTHEA ENTERTAINMENT LTD→ 09818970 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ANALYTIX CONSULTING LIMITED→ 05687970 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ANNEO CONSULTING LTD→ 11436921 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| APERTURE WAY LTD→ 16991490 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| APTECH SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 06980624 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ARCALIS SERVICES LIMITED→ 11166931 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ARCIMEDIA LIMITED→ 10661634 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ARCRON ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 13041836 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARDENT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 13768377 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ARF SYSTEMS LTD→ 07448495 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ARIADNE DESIGNS LIMITED→ 04218771 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2016-03-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
7 Palmerston Way
Fairfield Park
Stotfold
Bedfordshire
SG5 4FP
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-24
Last: 2026-03-10
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
CULLEN, Grainne→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2016-03-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HICKEY, Damian→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2016-05-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (23 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-11