ABBEY CENTRE SPECSAVERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

NI046673 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-28

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 47782

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (59/100)

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

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

10 officers (7 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

11 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

106 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand

2025-10-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2025-10-03
📄
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2025-10-03
📄
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2025-10-03
📄
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2025-05-13
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2024-10-08
📄
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2024-08-13
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-03-28
📄
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2024-03-28
📄
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2023-09-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2023-09-18
📄
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2023-04-27
📄
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2023-04-27
📄
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2023-01-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2023-01-16
📄
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2022-10-03
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2022-08-02
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-02
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-01
➕
MORRISON, Charlotte appointed
director
2022-08-01
➕
PERKINS, Douglas John David appointed
director
2022-07-01
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2022-02-28
➕
MARSHALL, Darryl Samuel appointed
director
2022-02-28
➖
CARROLL, Paul Francis resigned
director
2020-11-10
➖
MCGOLDRICK, Siobhan Catherine resigned
director
2013-01-24
➕
CARROLL, Paul Francis appointed
director
2003-07-14
➕
MCGINN, James Anthony appointed
director
2003-07-14
➕
PERKINS, Mary Lesley appointed
director
2003-07-14
➖
CAVE, Neil David resigned
director
2003-07-14
➕
MCGOLDRICK, Siobhan Catherine appointed
director
2003-05-28
🏢
Company incorporated
As ABBEY CENTRE SPECSAVERS LIMITED
2003-05-28
➕
SPECSAVERS OPTICAL GROUP LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2003-05-28
➕
SPECSAVERS OPTICAL GROUP LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2003-05-28
➕
CAVE, Neil David appointed
director

Owner dependency

88/100

Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS

-6 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LIMITED" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean

No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Specsavers Uk Holdings Limited holds 25-50% — a significant corporate investor but not a controlling parent.

🏛️

Specsavers Uk Holdings Limited

Corporate parent · holds 25-50% shares · board control

significant stake

⬇

ABBEY CENTRE SPECSAVERS LIMITED

This company · NI046673

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Specsavers Uk Holdings Limited Corporate entity	25–50%	25–50%	board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control	06/12/2017

2 historic (ceased) PSCs

Mr Douglas John David Perkinsceased 06/12/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
Mrs Mary Lesley Perkinsceased 06/12/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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 · Retail · BT postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
LAMONT STONE LIMITED→ NI031454 · est 1996	£12.57M £9.43M–£15.71M	—	—	73	29y	87	74y
BLAIR'S CARAVANS LIMITED→ NI012772 · est 1978	£10.95M £8.21M–£13.69M	£13.81M	—	6400	48y	88	58y
BOLAN INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ NI030942 · est 1996	£5.21M £3.91M–£6.52M	—	—	18100	29y	84	72y
CREATIVE GARDENS (NI) LIMITED→ NI043559 · est 2002	£4.31M £3.23M–£5.39M	£13.07M	—	20900	23y	84	77y
MURDOCK HARDWOOD INDUSTRIES LIMITED→ NI015426 · est 1982	£3.94M £2.96M–£4.93M	£14.10M	—	3300	44y	87	63y
R & J FOODS LTD→ NI035741 · est 1999	£3.17M £2.38M–£3.96M	—	—	114	27y	84	64y
ROBINSON'S OF BALLYMENA LTD→ NI601985 · est 2010	£2.20M £1.65M–£2.75M	£11.23M	—	8100	16y	84	66y
STEPHENS CATERING EQUIPMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ NI011092 · est 1975	£2.18M £1.63M–£2.72M	£19.96M	—	9500	50y	85	62y
BASIL KNIPE ELECTRICS LIMITED→ NI070354 · est 2008	£2.04M £1.53M–£2.56M	—	—	4300	17y	87	61y
HENDERSON FOOD HALLS LIMITED→ NI045604 · est 2003	£1.90M £1.42M–£2.37M	—	—	50	23y	83	68y
CHARIOTEER LIMITED→ NI038821 · est 2000	£1.83M £1.37M–£2.29M	£16.58M	—	9400	25y	85	61y
JESROE (SERVICES) LIMITED→ NI033828 · est 1998	£1.19M £889.9k–£1.48M	—	—	3000	28y	87	69y

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2003-05-28

Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland

Primary SIC47782 — SIC 47782

Registered office

Abbeycentre

35-37 Longwood Road

Newtownabbey

BT37 9UH

Northern Ireland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-11-30

Last made up to: 2025-02-28

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last: 2026-04-16