ABILITY SMART LTD
💤Zombieactive
10875477 · ltd · incorporated 2017-07-20
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Post-graduate level higher education
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 72/100 (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 (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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
34 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £300.0k |
| Current assets | — | £1.89M |
| Cash | — | £393.9k |
| Debtors | — | £1.50M |
| Net assets | — | £298.3k |
| Average employees | 4 | — |
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 (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-13📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-08-13📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-30➕ACKRILL, Daniel Stephen appointeddirector
- 2025-07-30➖FERGUSON, Callum Thomas resigneddirector
- 2025-05-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-05-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-04-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-08-02📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-05➖KERSHAW, Angel resigneddirector
- 2024-05-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-11-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-11-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-31📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-07-31📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-04-19📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2023-04-19📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-03-29➕FERGUSON, Callum Thomas appointeddirector
- 2022-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-20🏢Company incorporatedAs ABILITY SMART LTD
- 2017-07-20➕KERSHAW, Angel 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
45/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Callum Thomas Ferguson Individual · British · DOB 09/1996 · age 30 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 27/02/2020 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Ms Angel Kershawceased 27/02/2020· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Ms Angel Kershawceased 27/02/2020· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Education & training · SS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 PLUS POD LIMITED→ 10387303 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 11PLUSCENTRE LTD→ 12648338 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 3J EDUCATION LTD→ 12241789 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 4ZA PERFORMANCE LTD→ 14186890 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1 MOTORBIKE TRAINING LTD→ 12235953 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AAA EUREKA ONLINE LIMITED→ 10703461 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ABC CLUB→ 14120892 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACADEMICS AGAINST ASSAULT CIC→ 16345758 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCESS LEARNING ONLINE LIMITED→ 10504245 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACCREDISAFE SOLUTIONS LTD→ 17116729 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACE IMPACT CIC→ 16462971 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACN ACADEMY UK LTD→ 15524637 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-07-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85422 — Post-graduate level higher education
Registered office
Fanton Hall Office 12b
Off Arterial Road
Wickford
Essex
SS12 9JF
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-02
Last: 2025-07-19
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
ACKRILL, Daniel Stephen→
Activedirector · ~38y · appointed 2025-07-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FERGUSON, Callum Thomas→
Resigneddirector · ~30y · appointed 2023-03-29 · resigned 2025-07-30
KERSHAW, Angel→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2017-07-20 · resigned 2024-07-05
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (34 total)
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-13
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-04-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-08-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-05-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-11-01
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-07-31