QAB SYSTEMS LIMITED
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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 (79/100)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.
Key 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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2026-02-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-02-02📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-02-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-31✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2019-01-31📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2018-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2009-12-23🏢Company incorporatedAs QAB SYSTEMS LIMITED
- 2009-12-23➕JOHNSTONE, Patrick Stephen appointedsecretary
- 2009-12-23➕JOHNSTONE, Patrick Christopher appointeddirector
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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
cleanGroup structure
Wcc West Coast Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wcc West Coast Group Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 14/03/2024 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Patrick Christopher Johnstoneceased 14/03/2024· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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 · Holding company · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GUILLERPROPERTYSERVICES LTD→ SC777312 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| KENMURE LAND CO. LIMITED (THE)→ SC098020 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 40y | — | — |
| KLONDIKE CAPITAL UK LTD→ SC874878 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LITHGOWS LIMITED→ SC010170 · est 1918 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 107y | — | — |
| MACISAAC PROPERTIES LTD→ SC881119 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MMCGRATH PROPERTIES LTD→ SC798884 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| OBAN HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC279572 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ORRO INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC486898 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| PITULA INVESTMENT LTD→ SC868668 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PRO CONCEPT GROUP LTD→ SC710997 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| QPP HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC689514 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| R MACARTHUR GROUP LTD→ SC563613 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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 →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 · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.