ACO LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01841881 · ltd · incorporated 1984-08-17
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueDormant / non-trading with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
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
13 connected companies via shared directors
84
Filing history
99 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.
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 | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-11-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2024-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 1999-01-06➕SKIPPER, Kevin John appointedsecretary
- 1999-01-06➖HILL, Richard William resignedsecretary
- 1997-04-30➕HILL, Richard William appointeddirector
- 1997-04-30➖LIPSCOMBE, Robin James resigneddirector
- 1984-08-17🏢Company incorporatedAs ACO LIMITED
Owner dependency
83/100
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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
Aco Technologies Plc is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Aco Technologies Plc
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
ACO LIMITED
This company · 01841881
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aco Technologies Plc Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 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 · Holding company · SG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 COOLHURST ROAD FLAT MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 02872411 · est 1993 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| A & R HOLDINGS (LONDON) LIMITED→ 10902599 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALBION ROAD MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 02409959 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| ALDERMERE (CHESHUNT) MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 07305688 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ALEXANDRA COURT (ST IVES) MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 02420973 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| ALFASSA HOLDINGS LTD→ 11796906 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ALLIANCE COURT LTD→ 09966793 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ALMAR TWO LTD→ 10332309 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALOXAR INVESTMENTS LTD→ 12150572 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALPHA MU HOLDINGS LTD→ 17066626 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALTRO FLOORS LIMITED→ 00925908 · est 1968 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 58y | — | — |
| ALTRO WHITEROCK LIMITED→ 00751703 · est 1963 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 63y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1984-08-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
Registered office
Aco Technologies Plc,
Hitchin Road,
Shefford,
Beds.
SG17 5TE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-07
Last: 2025-10-24
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
SKIPPER, Kevin John→
Activesecretary · appointed 1999-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HILL, Richard William→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 1997-04-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HILL, Richard William→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1999-01-06
LIPSCOMBE, Robin James→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · resigned 1997-04-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (99 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2024-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-09-16