G.A.F. ARB. LTD.
No material changes in the last 30 days.
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (75/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £24.3k | £22.4k |
| Current assets | £51.9k | £50.2k |
| Cash | £17.2k | £4.1k |
| Debtors | £34.7k | £46.1k |
| Net assets | £20.0k | £11.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2006-05-18🏢Company incorporatedAs G.A.F. ARB. LTD.
- 2006-05-18➕FORBES, Jane appointedsecretary
- 2006-05-18➕FORBES, Gordon Anderson appointeddirector
- 2006-05-18➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-05-18➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-05-18➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2006-05-18➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gordon Anderson Forbes Individual · British · DOB 07/1961 · age 65 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 01/05/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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8 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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.