FUNCTIONAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC284687 · ltd · incorporated 2005-05-12
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£112.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 11.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
63 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £112,118
Net assets shrinking
Down £19,857 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£112k
↓ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£68k
↓ 25% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £116.2k | £137.0k |
| Current assets | £67.6k | £90.4k |
| Net assets | £112.1k | £132.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-04-09📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-02-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-08-07📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2022-08-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-09-23📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-26📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2018-06-26🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2018-06-25📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2015-02-13🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Santander UK PLC
- 2015-02-13🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Santander UK PLC
- 2015-02-09🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Santander UK PLC
- 2005-05-12🏢Company incorporatedAs FUNCTIONAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
- 2005-05-12➕CANNING, Joy appointedsecretary
- 2005-05-12➕CANNING, Thomas Patrick appointeddirector
- 2005-05-12➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-05-12➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-05-12➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-05-12➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
85/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Thomas Patrick Canning Individual · British · DOB 03/1970 · age 56 | 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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLABR8 TECH LIMITED→ SC866868 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DRYCOAT GARDEN LTD→ SC745845 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| FONOTEC UK LTD→ SC721299 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| FORTN LTD→ SC737765 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| FUTURASCOPE MUSIC LTD→ SC883517 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| G.W. CLARK (MARINE CONSULTANT) LTD→ SC606380 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| GAMEXPLOSION LTD→ SC606656 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| GARFTECH LTD→ SC847011 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GEORGE BRANNIGAN LIMITED→ SC558958 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| GID FILMS LTD→ SC449436 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| GO WOW LTD→ SC338140 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| GO WOW RECORDS LIMITED→ SC431899 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-05-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
18 Nicolson Street
Greenock
Renfrewshire
PA15 1JU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-26
Last: 2025-05-12
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
CANNING, Thomas Patrick→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2005-05-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-05-12 · resigned 2005-05-12
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-05-12 · resigned 2005-05-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Santander Santander UK PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 13/02/2015 | — | |
| satisfied | Santander Santander UK PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 13/02/2015 | 26/06/2018 | |
| outstanding | Santander Santander UK PLC | A registered charge | — | 09/02/2015 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (63 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-09
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-08-07
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-08-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-14