ACORN ENVIRONMENTAL UK LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01816463 · ltd · incorporated 1984-05-15
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 30.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
£579.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: General cleaning of buildings
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 30.6y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 30.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
129 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
74
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £579,430
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£317k
Net Worth
£579k
Current Assets
£743k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £635.8k | — |
| Current assets | £742.8k | — |
| Cash | £316.5k | — |
| Debtors | £420.5k | — |
| Net assets | £579.4k | — |
| Average employees | — | 4500 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
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
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-11-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-11-16📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-10-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-05-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-05-08📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-05-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-05-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-05-08📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-02-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-02-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-11-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-07✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2023-05-05✏️change-of-name-noticechange-of-name · CONNOT
- 2023-04-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-16📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-11-12➖KENTON, David John resigneddirector
- 2015-04-02➕CLARK, Sarah appointeddirector
- 2011-02-04➕KENTON, Gary Anthony appointedsecretary
- 2011-02-04➖KENTON, June Violet resignedsecretary
- 2010-01-29🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2009-05-09🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2009-04-24🔒Charge registered #4Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2009-01-30🔒Charge registered #3Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 1996-07-29🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1995-11-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1984-05-15🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN ENVIRONMENTAL UK LIMITED
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
71/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 42 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
1 med · 1 lowCharge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Multiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gary Anthony Kenton Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Angela Kenton Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/01/2021 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr David John Kentonceased 01/01/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2BROTHERS BANSTEAD BARBER SHOP LTD→ 16957517 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| 5 POWER LTD→ 11470290 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A J GARDENING LIMITED→ 04693698 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A. DENNISON & CO. LIMITED→ 04620466 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A7Z LTD→ 13175633 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AAHILL TRADING LTD→ 16021823 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABI NAILS LIMITED→ 15479241 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABP FIRE&SECURITY LTD→ 16693926 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCESS LOCKS & SECURITY LIMITED→ 05461035 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACOOL LIMITED→ 05289761 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ACT CLEANING SERVICES LIMITED→ 04961789 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1984-05-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC81210 — General cleaning of buildings
Registered office
Unit 7, Vulcan House
Restmor Way
Wallington
SM6 7AH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-26
Last: 2025-11-12
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
KENTON, Gary Anthony→
Activesecretary · appointed 2011-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CLARK, Sarah→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2015-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KENTON, June Violet→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2011-02-04
KENTON, David John→
Resigneddirector · ~92y · resigned 2020-11-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 24/04/2009 | — | |
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 30/01/2009 | — | |
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal mortgage | 1 property | 29/07/1996 | 09/05/2009 | |
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 13/11/1995 | 29/01/2010 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (129 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-11-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-11-16
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-08
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-05-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12