ACE PLUMBING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03747038 · ltd · incorporated 1999-04-07
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£289.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 76-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 76). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 13.0y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 13.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
8 connected companies via shared directors
69
Filing history
68 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £289,365
Net assets shrinking
Down £706 YoY
Cash YoY
-24%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£76k
↓ 24% YoY
Net Worth
£289k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£330k
↑ 1.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£66k£132k£198k£264k£330kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£295.8k£306.9k
Current assets£330.5k£325.8k
Cash£75.5k£98.9k
Debtors£241.6k£212.8k
Net assets£289.4k£290.1k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-12-19
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2025-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-06-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-04-05
    ➖
    ROGERS, Deborah Coral resigned
    secretary
  6. 2023-04-05
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  7. 2023-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-03-29
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  12. 2018-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-04-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2013-05-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  18. 1999-04-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACE PLUMBING LIMITED
  19. 1999-04-07
    ➕
    SMITH, Lee Vincent appointed
    director
  20. 1999-04-07
    ➕
    ROGERS, Deborah Coral appointed
    secretary
  21. 1999-04-07
    ➕
    QA REGISTRARS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1999-04-07
    ➖
    QA REGISTRARS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1999-04-07
    ➕
    QA NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 1999-04-07
    ➖
    QA NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 76 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 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Lee Vincent Smith
Individual · British · DOB 07/1950 · age 76
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 →

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02267825 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
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07753663 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
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————10y——
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————16y——
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12384258 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
ACTA CRANE HIRE LIMITED→
15534823 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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ACU HANDYMAN LTD→
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————6y——
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
Incorporated1999-04-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43220 — Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation

Registered office

78 Spring Road
Boscombe
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH1 4PT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-21
Last: 2026-04-07

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

SMITH, Lee Vincent→
director · ~76y · appointed 1999-04-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ROGERS, Deborah Coral→
secretary · appointed 1999-04-07 · resigned 2023-04-05
Resigned
QA REGISTRARS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-04-07 · resigned 1999-04-07
Resigned
QA NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-04-07 · resigned 1999-04-07
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property21/05/2013—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (68 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-03-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-12
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-12