A B ASSOCIATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC151350 · ltd · incorporated 1994-06-09

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

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£51.3k

book net assets

Opportunity

81/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 82-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 82). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

11 officers (5 active, 11 linked, 7 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

3 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

101 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

81/100Exceptional

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £51,333

Net assets shrinking

Down £1,835 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£51k

↓ 3.5% YoY

Current Assets

£25k

↓ 20% YoY

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	£51.3k	£53.2k
Current assets	£25.5k	£31.8k
Net assets	£51.3k	£53.2k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand

2025-11-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-08
📄
second-filing-of-annual-return-with-made-up-date
annual-return · RP04AR01
2022-08-08
📄
second-filing-of-annual-return-with-made-up-date
annual-return · RP04AR01
2022-08-08
📄
second-filing-of-annual-return-with-made-up-date
annual-return · RP04AR01
2022-08-08
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2022-08-04
📄
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2021-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-10-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-08-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-07-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-07-05
📄
annual-return-company
annual-return · AR01
2014-05-06
➖
BURGESS, John Moncrieff resigned
director
2007-07-25
➕
ABERNETHY, Diana Jane appointed
director
2001-12-13
➖
CHRISTIE, Maureen resigned
secretary
2001-12-12
➖
CHRISTIE, Maureen resigned
director
2001-08-23
➕
MATHEWSON, Alice appointed
secretary
1999-12-16
➕
MATHEWSON, Alice appointed
director
1998-06-10
➕
FOGG, Susan Elizabeth appointed
director
1996-10-30
➖
FOGG, Susan Elizabeth resigned
director
1994-07-01
➕
BLACKADDER, Andrew appointed
director
1994-07-01
➕
CHRISTIE, Maureen appointed
secretary
1994-07-01
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1994-07-01
➕
BURGESS, John Moncrieff appointed
director
1994-07-01
➕
CHRISTIE, Maureen appointed
director
1994-07-01
➕
FOGG, Susan Elizabeth appointed
director
1994-07-01
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1994-06-09
🏢
Company incorporated
As A B ASSOCIATES LIMITED
1994-06-09
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1994-06-09
➕
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 82 — succession pressure is live.

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 82 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr George Andrew Blackadder Individual · British · DOB 11/1947 · age 79	50–75%	—	50-75% shares	06/04/2016

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 · Professional services · ZE postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
MICHAEL POTTINGER ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC395494 · est 2011	—	—	—	3	15y	82	62y
HAFM LIMITED→ SC397698 · est 2011	—	—	£16.4k	—	15y	80	70y
JOHNSTONS SALES & SERVICES LIMITED→ SC309125 · est 2006	—	—	£450.6k	—	19y	80	84y
L & M ENGINEERING (UK) LIMITED→ SC428479 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	80	78y
TREGONNING AND CO LIMITED→ SC345791 · est 2008	—	—	—	0	17y	80	60y
BOLTS CAR HIRE LIMITED→ SC154841 · est 1994 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	79	75y
CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING SHETLAND LIMITED→ SC531924 · est 2016	—	—	£268.1k	—	10y	79	72y
FRANK L. JOHNSTON (SHETLAND) LIMITED→ SC066562 · est 1978	—	—	£1.22M	—	47y	79	84y
HAMEPARK HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC451413 · est 2013	—	—	£1.96M	—	13y	78	59y
JIM CLARK ACCOUNTANCY LTD.→ SC402670 · est 2011	—	—	£142.3k	—	14y	78	58y
JOHN LEASK CONSULTING LTD→ SC481647 · est 2014	—	—	—	100	11y	78	67y
MJW PRODUCTIVITY MANAGEMENT LTD→ SC479316 · est 2014	—	—	—	100	12y	78	68y

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

Incorporated1994-06-09

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

Kirk Business Centre

Castle Street

Scalloway

Shetland

ZE1 0TF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-06-23

Last: 2025-06-09