ACORN BUILDERS (DORSET) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04514828 · ltd · incorporated 2002-08-20
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.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 15.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2025
Net worth
£1.76M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 15.5y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 15.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
74 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,757,806
Cash YoY
-1%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£951k
↓ 1.5% YoY
Net Worth
£1.8m
↑ 4.6% YoY
Current Assets
£1.8m
↓ 2.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-09-30 | 2024-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.78M | £1.71M |
| Current assets | £1.76M | £1.80M |
| Cash | £951.4k | £965.5k |
| Debtors | £123.7k | £186.4k |
| Net assets | £1.76M | £1.68M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-02📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-06📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2019-12-06📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2019-12-06📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2019-12-06🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2019-12-06🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2019-12-06🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2019-05-09📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-05-08📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2019-03-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-02-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-12🔒Charge registered #4Lender: William George Michael Turner
- 2012-09-28🔒Charge registered #3Lender: William George Michael Turner
- 2010-11-25🔒Charge registered #2Lender: William George Michael Turner
- 2008-12-11➕KELLAWAY MOORE, Janet Rosemary appointeddirector
- 2002-08-23➕KELLAWAY MOORE, Janet Rosemary appointedsecretary
- 2002-08-23➕KELLAWAY MOORE, Paul Stephen appointeddirector
- 2002-08-22➖FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-08-22➖FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-08-20🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN BUILDERS (DORSET) LIMITED
- 2002-08-20➕FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-08-20➕FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
91/100
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
- +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 68 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
86/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Paul Stephen Kellaway Moore Individual · British · DOB 04/1959 · age 67 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board controlsig. influence50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · significant influence | 08/08/2016 |
Mrs Janet Rosemary Kellaway Moore Individual · British · DOB 02/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence | 08/08/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Construction · DT postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A J S DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ 02747293 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
| A M CARPENTRY LTD→ 09512952 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| A&J BUILDING PARTNERS LTD→ 14659186 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1 WINDOWS LIMITED→ 06676904 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ABBAS GAS SERVICES LIMITED→ 04301209 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ABBEY (DESIGN & BUILD) LIMITED→ 04865660 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE ELECTRICS SW LTD→ 16416714 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACH ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING LIMITED→ 10635553 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACORN CONSERVATORIES LIMITED→ 03544053 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| ACORUS CONSULTING LTD→ 05447282 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACTIONLINE DECORATING LTD→ 07581877 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AD PHILLIPS LIMITED→ 04556811 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-08-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Registered office
18 High West Street
Dorchester
DT1 1UW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-22
Last: 2025-08-08
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
KELLAWAY MOORE, Janet Rosemary→
Activesecretary · appointed 2002-08-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KELLAWAY MOORE, Janet Rosemary→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2008-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KELLAWAY MOORE, Paul Stephen→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2002-08-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-08-20 · resigned 2002-08-22
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-08-20 · resigned 2002-08-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | William George Michael Turner | A registered charge | 1 property | 12/10/2015 | 06/12/2019 | |
| satisfied | William George Michael Turner | Legal charge | 1 property | 28/09/2012 | 06/12/2019 | |
| satisfied | William George Michael Turner | Legal charge | 1 property | 25/11/2010 | 06/12/2019 |
Recent filings (74 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2021-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-18
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2019-12-06