ACORN GROUNDWORK LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03808084 · ltd · incorporated 1999-07-15
Investment thesis
Property vehicle with a workable charge structure — clean refinance potential.
Why interesting: Asset-backed; value largely in underlying property; lender engagement likely possible.
Why risky: Dependent on title and valuation due diligence; standard property risks.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 25.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
65/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Site preparation
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 43290Other construction installation
  • 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 65/100 (strong), bankability 45/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (50/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 25.7y

55/100
too messy

Structure is too messy for a clean refinance right now — clean up first or expect bespoke terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 25.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 45/100 (high).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
65/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
40
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
59
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-07-31
Average employees1000

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 accounts
Last 180 days
5
filings
  • • 4 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-21
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  2. 2026-01-31
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2026-01-30
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2026-01-30
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2026-01-27
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  6. 2025-11-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2025-11-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company
    officers · CH01
  8. 2025-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2024-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-11-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2021-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-09-24
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  14. 2021-09-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2021-04-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-05-01
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2020-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-12-04
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2019-12-04
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2019-12-02
    ➕
    EDWARDS, Hazel Catherine appointed
    director
  21. 2019-12-02
    ➕
    PIESCU, Madeleine Rose appointed
    director
  22. 2000-12-10
    ➖
    GOACHER, Robert Neil resigned
    director
  23. 2000-10-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  24. 2000-09-26
    ➖
    GOACHER, Christina Rose resigned
    secretary
  25. 2000-09-25
    ➕
    EDWARDS, Anthony Simon Joseph appointed
    director
  26. 2000-07-25
    ➕
    EDWARDS, Ann Marie appointed
    secretary
  27. 1999-07-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN GROUNDWORK LIMITED
  28. 1999-07-15
    ➕
    GOACHER, Christina Rose appointed
    secretary
  29. 1999-07-15
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1999-07-15
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 1999-07-15
    ➕
    GOACHER, Robert Neil appointed
    director
  32. 1999-07-15
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  33. 1999-07-15
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +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

85/100
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.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 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.

Red flags

1 high · 1 med ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-06-11

Has insolvency history
medium

Companies House flags prior insolvency events. Review the insolvency filings for context.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Ann Marie Edwards
Individual · British · DOB 05/1956 · age 70
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence15/07/2016
Mr Anthony Simon Joseph Edwards
Individual · British · DOB 05/1954 · age 72
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest15/07/2016

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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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated1999-07-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43120 — Site preparation

Registered office

The Granary
Hermitage Court, Hermitage Lane
Maidstone
Kent
ME16 9NT
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-11OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-28

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

EDWARDS, Ann Marie→
secretary · appointed 2000-07-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
EDWARDS, Anthony Simon Joseph→
director · ~72y · appointed 2000-09-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
EDWARDS, Hazel Catherine→
director · ~39y · appointed 2019-12-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PIESCU, Madeleine Rose→
director · ~37y · appointed 2019-12-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GOACHER, Christina Rose→
secretary · appointed 1999-07-15 · resigned 2000-09-26
Resigned
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-07-15 · resigned 1999-07-15
Resigned
GOACHER, Robert Neil→
director · ~66y · appointed 1999-07-15 · resigned 2000-12-10
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-07-15 · resigned 1999-07-15
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
Mortgage debenture1 property02/10/2000—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (97 total)

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2026-04-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-30
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-30
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2026-01-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-11-17
change-person-director-company
officers · CH01
2025-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-01
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-11-11