ACORN HANDLING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02586235 · ltd · incorporated 1991-02-27
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
£38.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33200
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle 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. 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 (78/100)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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
90 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £38,450
Net assets shrinking
Down £289 YoY
Cash YoY
+2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£35k
↑ 1.6% YoY
Net Worth
£38k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£36k
↑ 1.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £39.7k | £40.3k |
| Current assets | £35.7k | £35.1k |
| Cash | £34.6k | £34.0k |
| Debtors | £1.1k | £1.1k |
| Net assets | £38.5k | £38.7k |
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 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-05-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-04-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-11-15➖ROLLINSON, Wendy Jane resignedsecretary
- 2010-11-15➖ROLLINSON, Wendy Jane resigneddirector
- 1991-02-27🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN HANDLING LIMITED
- 1991-02-27➕ROLLINSON, Elaine Linda appointeddirector
- 1991-02-27➕HOLDER, Michael appointedsecretary
- 1991-02-27➕LEWIN, Gerald appointednominee-director
- 1991-02-22➖HOLDER, Michael resignedsecretary
- 1991-02-22➖LEWIN, Gerald resignednominee-director
- 1991-02-22➕ROLLINSON, Wendy Jane appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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 35 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
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.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 35 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Elaine Linda Rollinson Individual · British · DOB 02/1952 · age 74 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 09/02/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Wendy Jane Rollinsonceased 11/05/2017· 25-50% shares
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 · Manufacturing · NG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A F SWITCHGEAR LIMITED→ 01179371 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 51y | — | — |
| A.H.GARNER LIMITED→ 00465648 · est 1949 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 77y | — | — |
| A.I FABRICATIONS LTD→ 15775384 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AAFIYA SCENTS LTD→ 12413434 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABBEY INTERIORS HOME IMPROVEMENTS LTD→ 13251757 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACCESS SERVICE AND REPAIR LIMITED→ 06658298 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ACORN CONCEPTUAL TEXTILES LTD→ 05382506 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ACORN SIGNS & ENGRAVING LIMITED→ 03723475 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ADAMS AGILITY EQUIPMENT LTD→ 17088499 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADEPT (BPT) LIMITED→ 05159611 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ADEPT CONVEYOR BELTING MIDLANDS LTD→ 10836946 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADL JOINERY LTD→ 11868545 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1991-02-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33200 — SIC 33200
Registered office
1 Crow Hill Drive
Mansfield
Nottinghamshire
NG19 7AE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-06
Last: 2025-06-22
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
ROLLINSON, Elaine Linda→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 1991-02-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HOLDER, Michael→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1991-02-27 · resigned 1991-02-22
ROLLINSON, Wendy Jane→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2010-11-15
LEWIN, Gerald→
Resignednominee-director · ~75y · appointed 1991-02-27 · resigned 1991-02-22
ROLLINSON, Wendy Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 1991-02-22 · resigned 2010-11-15
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (90 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-04-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-08-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-06-04