ACS SPECIALIST CLEANING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05471389 · ltd · incorporated 2005-06-03
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£3.43M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 15.0y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 15.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
82 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £3,434,308
Cash YoY
+45%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£3.1m
↑ 45% YoY
Net Worth
£3.4m
↑ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£4.1m
↑ 20% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£822k£1.6m£2.5m£3.3m£4.1mApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£3.63M£3.66M
Current assets£4.11M£3.41M
Cash£3.09M£2.13M
Debtors£1.02M£1.28M
Net assets£3.43M£2.99M

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-24
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  3. 2025-03-24
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  4. 2025-03-19
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  5. 2025-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-05-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2024-05-17
    ➕
    WELLS, Andrew Paul appointed
    director
  8. 2024-05-17
    ➖
    WELLS, Andrew Paul resigned
    director
  9. 2024-05-17
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  10. 2024-01-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-08-24
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  13. 2022-08-23
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  14. 2022-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-05-25
    📄
    capital-cancellation-shares
    capital · SH06
  16. 2021-05-25
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  17. 2021-05-04
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  18. 2021-03-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  19. 2020-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  20. 2011-06-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
  21. 2010-10-29
    ➖
    TARGETT, Tanya resigned
    director
  22. 2010-10-28
    ➖
    ARMSTRONG, Diane resigned
    director
  23. 2010-10-28
    ➕
    TARGETT, Tanya appointed
    director
  24. 2007-09-26
    ➕
    ARMSTRONG, Diane appointed
    director
  25. 2007-09-26
    ➖
    WILSON, Liam Patrick resigned
    director
  26. 2005-06-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACS SPECIALIST CLEANING LIMITED
  27. 2005-06-03
    ➕
    ARMSTRONG, Keith Raymond appointed
    secretary
  28. 2005-06-03
    ➕
    ARMSTRONG, Keith Raymond appointed
    director
  29. 2005-06-03
    ➕
    WILSON, Liam Patrick appointed
    director

Owner dependency

93/100
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
  • +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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Diane Margaret Armstrong
Individual · British · DOB 04/1960 · age 66
—25–50%25-50% voting04/06/2020
Mr Keith Raymond Armstrong
Individual · British · DOB 11/1966 · age 60
—25–50%25-50% voting30/06/2016

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
Incorporated2005-06-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

The Warehouse Stockclough Lane
Feniscowles
Blackburn
BB2 5JR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-21
Last: 2025-10-07

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

ARMSTRONG, Keith Raymond→
secretary · appointed 2005-06-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARMSTRONG, Keith Raymond→
director · ~60y · appointed 2005-06-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARMSTRONG, Diane→
director · ~66y · appointed 2007-09-26 · resigned 2010-10-28
Resigned
TARGETT, Tanya→
director · ~41y · appointed 2010-10-28 · resigned 2010-10-29
Resigned
WELLS, Andrew Paul→
director · ~49y · appointed 2024-05-17 · resigned 2024-05-17
Resigned
WILSON, Liam Patrick→
director · ~54y · appointed 2005-06-03 · resigned 2007-09-26
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
outstanding
NatWest Group
Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
All assets debenture1 property07/06/2011—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (82 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-22
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-03-24
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-03-24
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-05-20
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-07
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-08-24
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-08-23