ADVANCED CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01875724 · ltd · incorporated 1985-01-08
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 28.0y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 28.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (73/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
111 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →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
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-01-31 |
|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-31📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-11-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-11-01📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-01-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-03📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2019-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-02📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2018-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2007-02-01➕KNOWLES, Jacqueline Claire appointedsecretary
- 2007-02-01➕KNOWLES, Andrew John appointeddirector
- 2007-02-01➖ARDEN, Michael Lawrence resigneddirector
- 2007-02-01➖MANKTELOW, Edgar Jack resigneddirector
- 2007-01-31➖DAWSON, Kathleen resignedsecretary
- 2004-08-23🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
- 2004-08-02🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
- 1998-05-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 1995-07-27➕DAWSON, Kathleen appointedsecretary
- 1995-07-18➖GRAVES, Geoffrey resignedsecretary
- 1995-07-18➖GRAVES, Geoffrey resigneddirector
- 1985-01-08🏢Company incorporatedAs ADVANCED CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 41 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew John Knowles Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Jacqueline Claire Knowles Individual · British · DOB 12/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% 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 · Technology · NE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABT DIGITAL LIMITED→ 15256421 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACHOMI LTD→ 17022983 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACTUAL CORNERS LIMITED→ 15761779 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAGE IT LTD→ 14533066 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADEBAYO IMPACT STUDIOS LTD→ 17078920 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADVANCE PUBLISHING LTD→ 15923955 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AEGIS INTELLIGENCE LTD→ 16504851 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AETERNUM SOFTWARE LTD→ 07002221 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AETHERYS LTD→ 16415859 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AFEXED LTD→ 08658870 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AFFILIATE ANGEL LIMITED→ 15478762 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AFFILIATE FAMILY LIMITED→ 04948385 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1985-01-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
246 Park View
Whitley Bay
Tyne And Wear
NE26 3QX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-30
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-10
Last: 2025-08-27
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
KNOWLES, Jacqueline Claire→
Activesecretary · appointed 2007-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KNOWLES, Andrew John→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2007-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DAWSON, Kathleen→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1995-07-27 · resigned 2007-01-31
GRAVES, Geoffrey→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1995-07-18
ARDEN, Michael Lawrence→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · resigned 2007-02-01
GRAVES, Geoffrey→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · resigned 1995-07-18
MANKTELOW, Edgar Jack→
Resigneddirector · ~81y · resigned 2007-02-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC | Deposit agreement to secure own liabilities | 1 property | 23/08/2004 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC | Deposit agreement to secure own liabilities | 1 property | 02/08/2004 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 21/05/1998 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (111 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-29
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-11-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-11-11
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2021-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-28