ACRE SURVEY & DESIGN LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04023805 · ltd · incorporated 2000-06-29
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£-3.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
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: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 78/100 (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 (73/100).

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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £3,865
Cash YoY
+262%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£279
↑ 262% YoY
Net Worth
-£4k
↓ 137% YoY
Current Assets
£294
↑ 220% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£4k-£3k-£2k-£1k-£538£294Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£-3.5k£-1.2k
Current assets£294£92
Cash£279£77
Debtors£15£15
Net assets£-3.9k£-1.6k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-07-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2020-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-07-06
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2017-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-06-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-07-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2014-07-01
    ➕
    BISHOP, Michael Henry Francis appointed
    director
  18. 2014-07-01
    ➖
    BISHOP, Michael Henry Francis resigned
    secretary
  19. 2014-07-01
    ➖
    WAKELIN, John Henry Edward resigned
    director
  20. 2006-04-01
    ➕
    WAKELIN, John Henry Edward appointed
    director
  21. 2006-03-31
    ➖
    PAUL, Tracey Claire resigned
    director
  22. 2000-06-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACRE SURVEY & DESIGN LIMITED
  23. 2000-06-29
    ➕
    BISHOP, Michael Henry Francis appointed
    secretary
  24. 2000-06-29
    ➕
    SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2000-06-29
    ➖
    SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2000-06-29
    ➕
    PAUL, Tracey Claire appointed
    director
  27. 2000-06-29
    ➕
    CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2000-06-29
    ➖
    CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS 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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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 Michael Henry Francis Bishop
Individual · English · DOB 12/1964 · age 62
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.

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · TA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
3 HILLS LTD→
11952265 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————7y——
4TH SQUARE LTD→
15914379 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
9TV INVESTMENTS COMPANY LIMITED→
11591846 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
A & G VETS LTD→
15722442 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
A.G.MERCER LTD→
06451503 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
AAM HOLDINGS→
09455606 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————11y——
AARDVARK OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH LTD→
06903280 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————16y——
ABBOTCARE LIMITED→
03155065 · est 1996 · no financials extracted
————30y——
ACCUMBUS LTD→
11031667 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
ACORN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT LIMITED→
07553087 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————15y——
ACQUIRED PROPERTY SOLUTIONS LIMITED→
06399575 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
ACTURA ADVISORY LIMITED→
17066165 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
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
Incorporated2000-06-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities

Registered office

14 Helmstedt Way
Chard
TA20 1DQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-13
Last: 2025-06-29

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

BISHOP, Michael Henry Francis→
director · ~62y · appointed 2014-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BISHOP, Michael Henry Francis→
secretary · appointed 2000-06-29 · resigned 2014-07-01
Resigned
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-06-29 · resigned 2000-06-29
Resigned
PAUL, Tracey Claire→
director · ~57y · appointed 2000-06-29 · resigned 2006-03-31
Resigned
WAKELIN, John Henry Edward→
director · ~65y · appointed 2006-04-01 · resigned 2014-07-01
Resigned
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-06-29 · resigned 2000-06-29
Resigned

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

Recent filings (64 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-01