ACORN PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05338070 · ltd · incorporated 2005-01-20
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
£219.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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
5 officers (2 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
63 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £219,833
Cash YoY
-25%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£15k
↓ 25% YoY
Net Worth
£220k
↑ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↓ 54% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £224.5k | £215.4k |
| Current assets | £28.1k | £61.6k |
| Cash | £15.5k | £20.5k |
| Debtors | £12.6k | £41.2k |
| Net assets | £219.8k | £199.0k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-25📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2023-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-09-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-09-04📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-09-04📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-10-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-10-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-10-18📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-10-18📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-31➖ELLIARD, Richard resigneddirector
- 2005-01-21➖FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-01-21➖FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-01-20🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES LIMITED
- 2005-01-20➕RICKABY, Neil appointedsecretary
- 2005-01-20➕RICKABY, Neil appointeddirector
- 2005-01-20➕FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-01-20➕ELLIARD, Richard appointeddirector
- 2005-01-20➕FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
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 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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 Neil Rickaby Individual · British · DOB 01/1957 · age 69 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Helen Rickaby Individual · British · DOB 05/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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Active · Construction · DL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110SERVICES NE LIMITED→ 16794370 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 186 INVESTMENTS LTD→ 07589623 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| 186 PROPERTY SOLUTIONS (SOUTHERN) LTD→ 02930991 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| 3 WIRE LIMITED→ 06280661 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A DINSDALE BUILDING LTD→ 12255140 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A HUGHES BUILDING & JOINERY SERVICES LTD→ 16008561 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A I ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 15012482 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A J W ENGINEERING LTD→ 05018819 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| A.J. & J.J. READMAN LIMITED→ 04627747 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| AA ELECTRICAL & SECURITY SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 15608423 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADAMNEWBY LIMITED→ 12474877 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADRIAN CARROLL LIMITED→ 05597194 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2005-01-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43220 — Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Registered office
43 Coniscliffe Road
Darlington
Durham
DL3 7EH
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 · 3 resigned)
Active
RICKABY, Neil→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2005-01-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-01-20 · resigned 2005-01-21
ELLIARD, Richard→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2005-01-20 · resigned 2016-05-31
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-01-20 · resigned 2005-01-21
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (63 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-02
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-11-09