ACUNITY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02554449 · ltd · incorporated 1990-11-01
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£119.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 62090Other information technology service activities
- 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
- 85320Technical and vocational secondary education
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 68). 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, 4 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
85 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £119,626
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,261 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£120k
↓ 1.0% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £119.6k | £120.9k |
| Current assets | — | £0 |
| Net assets | £119.6k | £120.9k |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-20➖ATHERLEY, Julian Charles resignedsecretary
- 2026-03-20📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2025-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-30📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-11-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 1997-01-31➕ATHERLEY, Julian Charles appointedsecretary
- 1997-01-31➖ATHERLEY, Margaret Elizabeth resignedsecretary
- 1997-01-31➖ATHERLEY, Margaret Elizabeth resigneddirector
- 1990-11-01🏢Company incorporatedAs ACUNITY 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 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
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 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 36 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 Simon John Atherley Individual · British · DOB 08/1958 · age 68 | 75–100% | — | board control75-100% shares · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 LTD→ 12389549 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 23 ILLUSTRATIONS LTD→ 16607639 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4PROEDUCATION LTD→ 14273314 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1 WEDDINGS (UK) LIMITED→ 04803844 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AAM IT LTD→ 16838318 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AB CYBER LTD→ 16895631 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANTLY LTD→ 14221097 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACCZNT LIMITED→ 14099344 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACROATIC LABS LTD→ 16831991 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACT BUILD CHANGE LTD→ 11959425 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADAMS LOGIC (UK) LTD→ 14161661 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADAPTIVE CONTROL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 03837714 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1990-11-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development
Registered office
19 Threshfield
Baildon
Shipley
West Yorkshire
BD17 6QA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-27
Last: 2026-03-13
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
Active
ATHERLEY, Julian Charles→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1997-01-31 · resigned 2026-03-20
ATHERLEY, Margaret Elizabeth→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1997-01-31
ATHERLEY, Margaret Elizabeth→
Resigneddirector · ~77y · resigned 1997-01-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (85 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-20
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-18