ACUMEN DESIGNERS & ARCHITECTS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04444841 · ltd · incorporated 2002-05-22
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 May 2025
Net worth
£10.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Architectural activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 24.0y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 24.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
78 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 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £10,625
Net assets shrinking
Down £54,269 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£11k
↓ 84% YoY
Current Assets
£113k
↓ 32% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £11.5k | £79.9k |
| Current assets | £113.2k | £166.1k |
| Net assets | £10.6k | £64.9k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-24📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-10-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-10-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-01-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-01-07📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-12-17➖HOUGH, Samuel Charles John resigneddirector
- 2019-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2011-06-01➕HOUGH, Samuel Charles John appointeddirector
- 2010-08-11➕WOOD, Sharon Anne appointedsecretary
- 2010-08-11➖CHILD, Jeremy resignedsecretary
- 2010-08-11➖FOTHERGILL, Stephen Lambert resigneddirector
- 2007-11-30➖CHILD, Elizabeth Louise resignedsecretary
- 2007-11-30➕CHILD, Jeremy appointedsecretary
- 2007-11-30➖CHILD, Elizabeth Louise resigneddirector
- 2007-11-30➕FOTHERGILL, Stephen Lambert appointeddirector
- 2002-06-10🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2002-05-22🏢Company incorporatedAs ACUMEN DESIGNERS & ARCHITECTS LIMITED
- 2002-05-22➕CHILD, Jeremy appointeddirector
- 2002-05-22➕BREWER, Suzanne appointednominee-secretary
- 2002-05-22➖BREWER, Suzanne resignednominee-secretary
- 2002-05-22➕CHILD, Elizabeth Louise appointedsecretary
- 2002-05-22➕BREWER, Kevin, Dr appointednominee-director
- 2002-05-22➖BREWER, Kevin, Dr resignednominee-director
- 2002-05-22➕CHILD, Elizabeth Louise appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Jeremy Child Individual · British · DOB 11/1965 · age 61 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Julie Child Individual · British · DOB 04/1969 · age 57 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 30/05/2021 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · HD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTIVE COMPLIANCE SERVICES LIMITED→ 03890720 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ACTIVE PERSONNEL RECRUITMENT LIMITED→ 14233250 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADAGE CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 15643061 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADAM DANIELS PET ORTHOPAEDICS LTD→ 15717450 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADDY MURGATROYD ACCOUNTANTS LTD→ 06486268 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ADDY MURGATROYD LTD→ 11892252 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ADEPT DESIGN LTD→ 13927295 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADEPT LIVE LIMITED→ 11383319 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ADG ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 04335586 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ADGM LIMITED→ 07496115 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ADMIN4QS LIMITED→ 06261336 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ADNDIGITAL LIMITED→ 10536921 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-05-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities
Registered office
Headrow House
Old Leeds Road
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire
HD1 1SG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-03
Last: 2026-01-20
Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)
Active
CHILD, Jeremy→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2002-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BREWER, Suzanne→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 2002-05-22 · resigned 2002-05-22
CHILD, Elizabeth Louise→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-05-22 · resigned 2007-11-30
CHILD, Jeremy→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2007-11-30 · resigned 2010-08-11
BREWER, Kevin, Dr→
Resignednominee-director · ~74y · appointed 2002-05-22 · resigned 2002-05-22
CHILD, Elizabeth Louise→
Resigneddirector · ~60y · appointed 2002-05-22 · resigned 2007-11-30
FOTHERGILL, Stephen Lambert→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2007-11-30 · resigned 2010-08-11
HOUGH, Samuel Charles John→
Resigneddirector · ~46y · appointed 2011-06-01 · resigned 2019-12-17
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 10/06/2002 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (78 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-13
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-14