ACORN OF LYME LTD

🌳Matureactive
04714714 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-28
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£32.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 81-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 81). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
4 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £32,771

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£33k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£60k
↓ 9.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£13k£27k£40k£53k£67kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£32.8k£29.4k
Current assets£60.1k£66.6k
Net assets£32.8k£29.4k

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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2022-05-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-05-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2022-05-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2022-05-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2021-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2003-04-03
    ➕
    HEATH COLEMAN, Benedict Graeme appointed
    director
  17. 2003-04-01
    ➕
    HEATH COLEMAN, Annette Fay appointed
    director
  18. 2003-03-31
    ➕
    HEATH COLEMAN, Heather Joyce appointed
    secretary
  19. 2003-03-31
    ➕
    HEATH COLEMAN, Graeme William appointed
    director
  20. 2003-03-31
    ➕
    HEATH COLEMAN, Heather Joyce appointed
    director
  21. 2003-03-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN OF LYME LTD
  22. 2003-03-28
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-03-28
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-03-28
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2003-03-28
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 81 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 81 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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

4 active beneficial owners · fragmented
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Annette Fay Heath-Coleman
Individual · British · DOB 03/1975 · age 51
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016
Mr Graeme William Heath-Coleman
Individual · British · DOB 10/1945 · age 81
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016
Mrs Heather Joyce Heath-Coleman
Individual · British · DOB 12/1946 · age 80
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016
Mr Benedict Graeme Heath-Coleman
Individual · British · DOB 06/1975 · age 51
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2003-03-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Registered office

Acorn
Victoria Place
Axminster
Devon
EX13 5NQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-12
Last: 2026-03-29

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

HEATH COLEMAN, Heather Joyce→
secretary · appointed 2003-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEATH COLEMAN, Annette Fay→
director · ~51y · appointed 2003-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEATH COLEMAN, Benedict Graeme→
director · ~51y · appointed 2003-04-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEATH COLEMAN, Graeme William→
director · ~81y · appointed 2003-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEATH COLEMAN, Heather Joyce→
director · ~80y · appointed 2003-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-28 · resigned 2003-03-28
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-03-28 · resigned 2003-03-28
Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-30