ACE COMMUNICATIONS (WARE) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04507230 · ltd · incorporated 2002-08-08
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£-13.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Wired telecommunications activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -84% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £13,528
Cash draining
Cash down 84% YoY
Cash YoY
-84%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£881
↓ 84% YoY
Net Worth
-£14k
↑ 8.1% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↓ 56% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£15k-£10k-£6k-£1k£3k£8kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£-12.3k£-10.5k
Current assets£3.5k£7.9k
Cash£881£5.5k
Debtors£1.6k£1.4k
Net assets£-13.5k£-14.7k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-07-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-08-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2014-08-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2013-08-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-05-28
    ➖
    FRANKLIN, Kathleen Georgina resigned
    secretary
  17. 2006-08-17
    ➕
    CRAIG, Jacqueline Holly Yvonne appointed
    director
  18. 2004-03-03
    ➖
    FRANKLIN, Jean resigned
    secretary
  19. 2004-03-03
    ➕
    FRANKLIN, Kathleen Georgina appointed
    secretary
  20. 2004-03-03
    ➖
    FRANKLIN, Jean resigned
    director
  21. 2002-10-16
    ➕
    FRANKLIN, Kenneth Neal appointed
    director
  22. 2002-10-16
    ➕
    FRANKLIN, Jean appointed
    secretary
  23. 2002-08-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACE COMMUNICATIONS (WARE) LIMITED
  24. 2002-08-08
    ➕
    BHARDWAJ, Ashok appointed
    nominee-secretary
  25. 2002-08-08
    ➖
    BHARDWAJ, Ashok resigned
    nominee-secretary
  26. 2002-08-08
    ➕
    FRANKLIN, Jean appointed
    director
  27. 2002-08-08
    ➕
    BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2002-08-08
    ➖
    BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES 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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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

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 Kenneth Neal Franklin
Individual · British · DOB 04/1960 · age 66
75–100%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence06/04/2016

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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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
Incorporated2002-08-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC61100 — Wired telecommunications activities

Registered office

2 Tower House
Hoddesdon
Hertfordshire
EN11 8UR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-22
Last: 2025-08-08

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

CRAIG, Jacqueline Holly Yvonne→
director · ~57y · appointed 2006-08-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FRANKLIN, Kenneth Neal→
director · ~66y · appointed 2002-10-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BHARDWAJ, Ashok→
nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-08-08 · resigned 2002-08-08
Resigned
FRANKLIN, Jean→
secretary · appointed 2002-10-16 · resigned 2004-03-03
Resigned
FRANKLIN, Kathleen Georgina→
secretary · appointed 2004-03-03 · resigned 2013-05-28
Resigned
FRANKLIN, Jean→
director · ~93y · appointed 2002-08-08 · resigned 2004-03-03
Resigned
BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-08-08 · resigned 2002-08-08
Resigned

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

Recent filings (60 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-08-14