A.B PAYNE LTD
💤Zombieactive
12379257 · ltd · incorporated 2019-12-30
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-695
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 68201Renting and operating of Housing Association real estate
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 71/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (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, 2 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 (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
20 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £695
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£695
Current Assets
£33k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £28.9k | — |
| Current assets | £32.9k | — |
| Net assets | £-695 | — |
| Average employees | — | 100 |
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
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-07-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-02-18📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-02-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-02-17➖PEARCE, Abigail Leah resigneddirector
- 2019-12-30🏢Company incorporatedAs A.B PAYNE LTD
- 2019-12-30➕PAYNE, Billy Graham appointeddirector
- 2019-12-30➕PEARCE, Abigail Leah appointeddirector
- 2019-12-30📄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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "PAYNE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Billy Graham Payne Individual · British · DOB 12/1992 · age 34 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 30/12/2019 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Ms Abigail Leah Pearceceased 17/02/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST CHOICE FLOORING C&J LTD→ 12698835 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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| 51 COMMERCIAL STREET LIMITED→ 13621907 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A.D PHOENIX LTD→ 16395513 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AA BENDON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 11147413 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AACME GLASS LIMITED→ 02108304 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| AAF DEVELOPMENT LTD→ 16347847 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AAF DISTRIBUTIONS LTD→ 16295173 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AALTMO LTD→ 15560827 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AARON CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LTD→ 10712246 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AB PLUMBING AND PROPERTY SERVICES LTD→ 16359092 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABBYFIELD CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ 04049172 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2019-12-30
Jurisdictionwales
Primary SIC43220 — Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Registered office
88 Christchurch Road
Newport
NP19 7SJ
Wales
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-13
Last: 2025-12-30
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
PAYNE, Billy Graham→
Activedirector · ~34y · appointed 2019-12-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PEARCE, Abigail Leah→
Resigneddirector · ~33y · appointed 2019-12-30 · resigned 2020-02-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (20 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-07-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-29