ABOVE THE BAY HOLDINGS LIMITED
Opportunity 76/100 (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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -99% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 2.5y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Newest facility, 2.5 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredKey financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-30 | 2023-12-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £2.14M | £2.34M |
| Current assets | £1.83M | £342.5k |
| Cash | £3.8k | £299.2k |
| Debtors | £1.83M | £43.3k |
| Net assets | £266.8k | £336.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-23📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-16✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2023-12-07📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2023-12-04🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2023-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-12📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-09-02➕LANCASTER, Ian Michael appointeddirector
- 2021-09-02➖WALMSLEY, Brian Ronald resigneddirector
- 2021-09-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-09-02📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-09-02📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-09-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-09-02📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-08-03🏢Company incorporatedAs ABOVE THE BAY HOLDINGS LIMITED
- 2021-08-03➕WALMSLEY, Brian Ronald appointeddirector
- 2021-08-03📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Ian Michael Lancaster Individual · British · DOB 04/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 02/09/2021 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Peel Shareholders Ltdceased 02/09/2021· 75-100% shares · firm interest
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 04/12/2023 | — |