ABW BARRIERS & GATES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC346864 · ltd · incorporated 2008-08-11
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£49.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33200
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 68100Buying and selling of own real estate
- 74100Specialised design activities
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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 (70/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
46 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 £49,125
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£49k
Current Assets
£26k
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-27 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £41.1k |
| Current assets | £25.9k |
| Net assets | £49.1k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-26📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-05-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-31📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2019-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-29📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-05-27📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2008-08-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ABW BARRIERS & GATES LTD
- 2008-08-11➕ANDERSON, William Brian appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 18 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. 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 18 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr William Brian Anderson Individual · Scottish · DOB 05/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | — | sig. influence75-100% shares · significant influence | 01/08/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · G postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A P S GEO SERVICES LIMITED→ SC267280 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| A.L.S. (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC555932 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALEEZLIAQAT LTD→ SC875558 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALL INSPECTIONS LTD→ SC736902 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALLSTAR JOINERY LTD→ SC361612 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ALPRESS HYDRAULIC SERVICES LTD.→ SC389888 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ANDERSON CREATIONS LIMITED→ SC537593 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ANDERSON DIGITAL LIMITED→ SC311700 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ANGEL FOR HIRE LTD→ SC881110 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ANISTON TRADING LTD→ SC498993 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AOU CAMPER UPHOLSTERY LTD→ SC749708 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| APEX ACCESS SERVICES LTD→ SC590872 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-08-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC33200 — SIC 33200
Registered office
180 Wraes View
Barrhead
Glasgow
G78 1UL
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-27
Last made up to: 2024-08-27
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-26
Last: 2025-11-12
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
ANDERSON, William Brian→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2008-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (46 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-08-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-26
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-20