ASHTON BUILDING SERVICES LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC243905 · ltd · incorporated 2003-02-13
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.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£2.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Quantity surveying activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -90% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £2,125
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,529 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 90% YoY
Cash YoY
-90%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1k
↓ 90% YoY
Net Worth
£2k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Assets
£4k
↓ 59% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £2.5k | £4.1k |
| Current assets | £4.4k | £10.8k |
| Cash | £1.1k | £10.8k |
| Debtors | £3.3k | — |
| Net assets | £2.1k | £3.7k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-05-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-23📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-03-04📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2010-06-10➕FERRIS, Janette appointeddirector
- 2003-02-13🏢Company incorporatedAs ASHTON BUILDING SERVICES LIMITED
- 2003-02-13➕FERRIS, Janette appointedsecretary
- 2003-02-13➕FERRIS, James Murray appointeddirector
- 2003-02-13➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-02-13➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-02-13➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-02-13➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
91/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Murray Ferris Individual · British · DOB 01/1949 · age 77 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Janette Ferris Individual · British · DOB 03/1952 · age 74 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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
Incorporated2003-02-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74902 — Quantity surveying activities
Registered office
Ground Floor (Part) Unit 8000 Academy Business Park
51 Gower Street
Glasgow
G51 1PR
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-27
Last: 2026-02-13
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
Active
FERRIS, James Murray→
Activedirector · ~77y · appointed 2003-02-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FERRIS, Janette→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2010-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-02-13 · resigned 2003-02-13
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-02-13 · resigned 2003-02-13
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (61 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-10-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-05-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-24
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-10-08