ABF WORKSPACE LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC394840 · ltd · incorporated 2011-03-04
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 9.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46650
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 9.9y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
40 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 3 | 400 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-11-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-04📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-07-04🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2017-05-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-13📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2016-05-25📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2016-05-25🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Triodos Bank N.V.
- 2016-05-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Triodos Bank N.V.
- 2015-12-22➕STEWART, Elaine appointeddirector
- 2011-03-04🏢Company incorporatedAs ABF WORKSPACE LIMITED
- 2011-03-04➕STEWART, Andrew appointeddirector
Owner dependency
89/100
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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
69/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Elaine Stewart Individual · British · DOB 08/1969 · age 57 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 11/05/2016 |
Mr Andrew Stewart Individual · British · DOB 12/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% 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
Active · Wholesale & distribution · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.DEANS TRADING LIMITED→ SC706260 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABBEY POTATOES LIMITED→ SC699194 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AMEEN DISTRIBUTION LTD→ SC855747 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ANGUS GAS LTD→ SC877719 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AYDYA LIMITED→ SC367967 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| BARLOW ROPES LIMITED→ SC577652 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BROUGHTY INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES LTD.→ SC319711 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| BROWN & WILSON STEELS LTD.→ SC203229 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| CIRCULAR FOOD GROUP PROJECTS LIMITED→ SC876697 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| COSYNERGY LTD→ SC838218 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| COULL FARM SERVICES LIMITED→ SC882774 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DIRECT LINE TIMBER LTD.→ SC155945 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2011-03-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46650 — SIC 46650
Registered office
2 Osborne Place
Dundee
DD2 1BD
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-02
Last: 2026-02-16
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
STEWART, Andrew→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2011-03-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
STEWART, Elaine→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2015-12-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Triodos Bank N.V. | A registered charge | 1 property | 25/05/2016 | — | |
| satisfied | Triodos Bank N.V. | A registered charge | — | 23/05/2016 | 04/07/2017 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (40 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2019-10-29