ACORN PLATING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02807243 · ltd · incorporated 1993-04-06
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£40.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Treatment and coating of metals
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
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
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
105 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £40,369
Net assets shrinking
Down £8,622 YoY
Cash YoY
-2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£18k
↓ 2.2% YoY
Net Worth
£40k
↓ 18% YoY
Current Assets
£63k
↓ 20% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £54.0k | £72.3k |
| Current assets | £63.3k | £79.6k |
| Cash | £18.4k | £18.8k |
| Debtors | £41.3k | £54.4k |
| Net assets | £40.4k | £49.0k |
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
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-04-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-09-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-08-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-04-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-04-19📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-03-29➖REICH, Jamie Elizabeth resigneddirector
- 2023-02-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-02-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-04-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-04-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-04-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-25➕REICH, Jamie Elizabeth appointeddirector
- 2017-04-30➖BARRY, Neal resignedsecretary
- 2017-04-30➖BARRY, Irene Louis resigneddirector
- 2017-04-30➖BARRY, Neal resigneddirector
- 2017-04-03➕BARRY, Steven Paul appointeddirector
- 1993-04-30➖ROFFEY, John Edward resignedsecretary
- 1993-04-30➕BARRY, Irene Louis appointeddirector
- 1993-04-07➖ATKINSON, Helen Judith resignednominee-secretary
- 1993-04-07➕ROFFEY, John Edward appointedsecretary
- 1993-04-07➕BARRY, Neal appointeddirector
- 1993-04-07➖SPECTRUM BUSINESS CORPORATION LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1993-04-06🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN PLATING LIMITED
- 1993-04-06➕ATKINSON, Helen Judith appointednominee-secretary
- 1993-04-06➕SPECTRUM BUSINESS CORPORATION LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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 Steven Paul Barry Individual · English · DOB 05/1978 · age 48 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 31/03/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Miss Jamie Elizabeth Reichceased 29/03/2023· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · GU postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 BRICKIN PLACE LTD→ 11799966 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 1ST MILLENNIUM ELECTRONICS LIMITED→ 03788514 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| 40PARTS LTD→ 16221557 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4FORTHECULTURE. LTD→ 15553880 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A AND L MOORINGS LIMITED→ 16554468 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A3P LTD→ 13655409 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AALTO HAPS LIMITED→ 13925802 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE AROMAS LIMITED→ 02968674 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ABUS CRANE SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 02591463 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ACCURATE MECHANICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 10679386 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACETEK ELECTRICAL LIMITED→ 04154135 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ACOUSTIC MONITORING INTERNATIONAL LTD→ 15310630 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1993-04-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25610 — Treatment and coating of metals
Registered office
4 Vulcan Way
Swan Lane
Sandhurst
Berkshire
GU47 9DB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-04
Last: 2026-04-20
Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)
BARRY, Steven Paul→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2017-04-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ATKINSON, Helen Judith→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1993-04-06 · resigned 1993-04-07
BARRY, Neal→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2017-04-30
ROFFEY, John Edward→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1993-04-07 · resigned 1993-04-30
BARRY, Irene Louis→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 1993-04-30 · resigned 2017-04-30
BARRY, Neal→
Resigneddirector · ~78y · appointed 1993-04-07 · resigned 2017-04-30
REICH, Jamie Elizabeth→
Resigneddirector · ~39y · appointed 2020-06-25 · resigned 2023-03-29
SPECTRUM BUSINESS CORPORATION LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-04-06 · resigned 1993-04-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (105 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-04-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-09-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-04-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-02-09