ACT ASSOCIATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02606201 · ltd · incorporated 1991-04-30
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 30.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62012Business and domestic software development
  • 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
  • 85590Other education n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 30.5y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
105 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Average employees131100

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
5
filings
  • • 3 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 2 officers
Last 180 days
6
filings
  • • 3 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  2. 2026-02-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2026-02-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2026-02-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2026-02-25
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  6. 2025-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-03-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  9. 2024-03-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  10. 2023-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-02-16
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2023-02-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  13. 2022-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2016-09-28
    ➖
    NEWELL, Barrie Arthur resigned
    secretary
  20. 2016-09-28
    ➖
    NEWELL, Barrie Arthur resigned
    director
  21. 2000-01-14
    ➖
    NEWELL, Jillian Dianne resigned
    director
  22. 1996-02-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  23. 1995-10-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  24. 1991-04-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACT ASSOCIATES LIMITED

Owner dependency

81/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Ian Frank Coombes
Individual · English · DOB 06/1954 · age 72
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control29/09/2016
Mrs Michelle Dione Coombes
Individual · British · DOB 07/1960 · age 66
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting18/12/2025

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 · DY postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
121 COMMS CARRIER SERVICES LTD→
12113800 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
2T ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED→
12654853 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
4 STAR TECH LIMITED→
16243439 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
A11Y QUEST LTD→
15130938 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
AAKAD LTD→
13921394 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————4y——
ACADEMICI LIMITED→
05350919 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————21y——
ACCELULATOR LTD→
16087717 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ACE MM LIMITED→
04988287 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
ACME COMPUTING LIMITED→
07751976 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
ACORN IT SERVICES LIMITED→
06479722 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————18y——
ACQUIRE PLUS LIMITED→
11436206 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
ACTION PLANNING LIMITED→
03087352 · est 1995 · no financials extracted
————30y——
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
Incorporated1991-04-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing

Registered office

Victoria House
32 Lower High Street
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY8 1TA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-13
Last: 2025-04-29

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

COOMBES, Ian Frank→
director · ~72y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COOMBES, Michelle Dione→
director · ~66y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NEWELL, Barrie Arthur→
secretary · resigned 2016-09-28
Resigned
NEWELL, Barrie Arthur→
director · ~77y · resigned 2016-09-28
Resigned
NEWELL, Jillian Dianne→
director · ~76y · resigned 2000-01-14
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Single debenture1 property22/02/199621/03/2024
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Mortgage1 property27/10/199516/02/2023

Recent filings (105 total)

change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-25
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-07
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-02
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-04