ACE SHOPFITTERS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01872596 · ltd · incorporated 1984-12-18
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 May 2025
Net worth
£8.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of office and shop furniture
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 71). 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 (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £8,040
Net assets shrinking
Down £8,332 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£8k
↓ 51% YoY
Current Assets
£11k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £10.1k | £18.4k |
| Current assets | £10.9k | £18.9k |
| Net assets | £8.0k | £16.4k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-06-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2012-02-10➖BB SECRETARIAL SERVICES resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-01-05➕BB SECRETARIAL SERVICES appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-01-05➖CARGIL MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-05-04➖SUNDERLAND, Anthony John resigneddirector
- 1984-12-18🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE SHOPFITTERS LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 41 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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 John Sydney Butchart Individual · British · DOB 01/1955 · age 71 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · CM postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24HOURSTEEL LTD→ 16823103 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 360FORMWORK LTD→ 11034330 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 3E SECURITY LIMITED→ 02721577 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
| 3R BATTERY SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16051961 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A & B INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 12999048 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A. ASHTON LIMITED→ 04729215 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A.E.SIMMONS LIMITED→ 00416128 · est 1946 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 79y | — | — |
| A.G. ENGINEERING WELDING & FABRICATION SERVICES LIMITED→ 09045895 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACE CARPET EDGING LIMITED→ 04193678 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ACE FABRICATORS LIMITED→ 05047750 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ACE PARTITIONING SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 13787633 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACE SIGNS LTD→ 15875720 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1984-12-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC31010 — Manufacture of office and shop furniture
Registered office
O-I Building, First Floor, The West Wing
Edinburgh Way
Harlow
Essex
CM20 2DB
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-05
Last: 2026-02-19
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
Active
BB SECRETARIAL SERVICES→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2004-01-05 · resigned 2012-02-10
CARGIL MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · resigned 2004-01-05
SUNDERLAND, Anthony John→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · resigned 2001-05-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (97 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-25