ACORN HOSPITALITY SYSTEMS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04588107 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-12
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 62090Other information technology service activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 21.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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, 2 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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
65 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 400 |
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 (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-05📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-10-05📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-11📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-03-31➖JONES, David resigneddirector
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-18📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-05-18📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-08-27➕JONES, Nicholas Graham Risdon appointeddirector
- 2004-10-25🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2002-11-12🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN HOSPITALITY SYSTEMS LIMITED
- 2002-11-12➕JONES, Marion appointedsecretary
- 2002-11-12➕HARRISON, Irene Lesley appointednominee-secretary
- 2002-11-12➖HARRISON, Irene Lesley resignednominee-secretary
- 2002-11-12➕JONES, David appointeddirector
- 2002-11-12➕BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH & REPORTING LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-11-12➖BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH & REPORTING LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
60/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 Nicholas Graham Risdon Jones Individual · British · DOB 05/1977 · age 49 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 14/09/2023 |
Marion Jones Individual · British · DOB 02/1952 · age 74 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- David Jonesceased 14/09/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · SE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCELERATION EMARKETING LIMITED→ 05296852 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ACCEPTABLE SOFTWARE LTD→ 13874168 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACCURATE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 05586580 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACCURION LIMITED→ 08964286 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ACE INTERNET CAFE LIMITED→ 16959800 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACE IT CONTRACTING LTD→ 08637967 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ACE OF BIZ LTD→ 13844360 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACG DATA ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 13929166 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACLM CONSULTING LIMITED→ 09296668 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACOUSTIC VENTURES LIMITED→ 16851776 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACRONYM PRODUCTIONS LIMITED→ 12178718 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ACRYLIC WEB STUDIOS LTD→ 15786902 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-11-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
A3, Broomsleigh Business Park
Worsley Bridge Road
London
SE26 5BN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-12
Last: 2025-10-29
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
JONES, Nicholas Graham Risdon→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2014-08-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARRISON, Irene Lesley→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-12 · resigned 2002-11-12
JONES, David→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · appointed 2002-11-12 · resigned 2022-03-31
BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH & REPORTING LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-12 · resigned 2002-11-12
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 | 25/10/2004 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (65 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-10-05
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-05-18
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-05-18