A & B EDUCATION LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC159176 · ltd · incorporated 1995-07-13
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 23.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
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 Dec 2025
Net worth
£76.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Pre-primary education
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 23.9y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 23.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (83/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed
95
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
4 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
103 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £76,682
Cash YoY
+33%
Year on year

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£107k
↑ 33% YoY
Net Worth
£77k
↑ 2.9% YoY
Current Assets
£127k
↑ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£25k£51k£76k£101k£127kDec 2023Dec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-12-312024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£77.0k£74.8k—
Current assets£126.8k£99.9k—
Cash£107.3k£80.5k—
Debtors£19.5k£19.4k—
Net assets£76.7k£74.5k—

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-07-14
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-07-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2025-07-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2025-07-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2025-07-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2025-07-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2025-07-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2024-07-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2024-07-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2024-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2023-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  19. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  20. 2023-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  21. 2022-10-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2018-05-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  23. 2018-05-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  24. 2002-09-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  25. 2002-08-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  26. 1995-09-21
    ➕
    BUTCHER, Margaret Mcewan Waddell appointed
    secretary
  27. 1995-09-21
    ➕
    ARCHIBALD, Douglas appointed
    director
  28. 1995-09-21
    ➕
    ARCHIBALD, Jacqueline appointed
    director
  29. 1995-09-21
    ➕
    BUTCHER, John Robert appointed
    director
  30. 1995-09-21
    ➕
    BUTCHER, Margaret Mcewan Waddell appointed
    director
  31. 1995-09-21
    ➖
    HBJ SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  32. 1995-09-21
    ➖
    HENDERSON BOYD JACKSON LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  33. 1995-07-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A & B EDUCATION LIMITED
  34. 1995-07-13
    ➕
    HBJ SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  35. 1995-07-13
    ➕
    HENDERSON BOYD JACKSON LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

73/100
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 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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

4 active beneficial owners · fragmented
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Douglas Archibald
Individual · British · DOB 10/1961 · age 65
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr John Robert Butcher
Individual · British · DOB 11/1962 · age 64
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Jacqueline Archibald
Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Margaret Mcewan Waddell Butcher
Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated1995-07-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85100 — Pre-primary education

Registered office

30 Burnbank Road
Burnbank
Hamilton
Lanarkshire
ML3 9AA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-15
Last: 2025-07-01

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

BUTCHER, Margaret Mcewan Waddell→
secretary · appointed 1995-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARCHIBALD, Douglas→
director · ~65y · appointed 1995-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARCHIBALD, Jacqueline→
director · ~64y · appointed 1995-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTCHER, John Robert→
director · ~64y · appointed 1995-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTCHER, Margaret Mcewan Waddell→
director · ~64y · appointed 1995-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HBJ SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1995-07-13 · resigned 1995-09-21
Resigned
HENDERSON BOYD JACKSON LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 1995-07-13 · resigned 1995-09-21
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property19/09/200215/05/2018
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property05/08/200215/05/2018

Recent filings (103 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-07
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-07-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-26