ACAM INSTRUMENTATION LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
01543383 · ltd · incorporated 1981-02-04
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 42.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£213.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
69/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 26511
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed manufacturing with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 69/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 42.6y

70/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 42.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
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
107 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
69/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
59
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £213,449
Net assets shrinking
Down £25,440 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£213k
↓ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£76k
↓ 9.0% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£48k£96k£143k£191k£239kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£37.0k£47.5k
Current assets£75.7k£83.2k
Net assets£213.4k£238.9k

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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-30
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  6. 2022-05-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2022-05-30
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  8. 2022-05-26
    ➕
    COTTAM, Thomas Cedric appointed
    secretary
  9. 2022-05-26
    ➖
    COTTAM, Jane Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  10. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-04-05
    ➖
    COTTAM, Jane Elizabeth resigned
    director
  13. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-12-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-07-01
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  17. 2017-07-01
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  18. 2017-03-30
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  19. 2017-03-30
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  20. 2017-03-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  21. 2017-03-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  22. 2017-03-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  23. 2017-03-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  24. 2015-06-10
    ➕
    IRELAND, Joanne Hayley appointed
    director
  25. 2004-05-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  26. 2004-05-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  27. 1991-05-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Yorkshire Bank PLC
  28. 1983-09-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Yorkshire Bank PLC
  29. 1981-02-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACAM INSTRUMENTATION LIMITED

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 45 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high · 1 med ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-05-10

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Thomas Cedric Cottam
Individual · British · DOB 05/1946 · age 80
25–50%
—25-50% shares31/07/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated1981-02-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC26511 — SIC 26511

Registered office

23 Thomas Street
Northampton
NN1 3EN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-10OVERDUE
Last: 2025-04-26

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

COTTAM, Thomas Cedric→
secretary · appointed 2022-05-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COTTAM, Thomas Cedric→
director · ~80y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
IRELAND, Joanne Hayley→
director · ~50y · appointed 2015-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COTTAM, Jane Elizabeth→
secretary · resigned 2022-05-26
Resigned
COTTAM, Jane Elizabeth→
director · ~76y · resigned 2020-04-05
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property18/05/200415/03/2017
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property18/05/200415/03/2017
satisfied
Virgin Money
Yorkshire Bank PLC
Debenture1 property03/05/199101/07/2017
satisfied
Virgin Money
Yorkshire Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property28/09/198330/03/2017

Recent filings (107 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-30
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-05-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-05-30
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-09