ACE SHIPPING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05500795 · ltd · incorporated 2005-07-06
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
£100
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 52103
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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 (78/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
49 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 £100
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£100
~ YoY
Net Worth
£100
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £100 | £100 |
| Cash | £100 | £100 |
| Net assets | £100 | £100 |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-17📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-10-17📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-10-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-07-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2005-07-06🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE SHIPPING LIMITED
- 2005-07-06➕MERRIMAN, Deborah Patricia appointedsecretary
- 2005-07-06➕MERRIMAN, Edward Aiden appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 21 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Deborah Patricia Merriman Individual · British · DOB 10/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Deborah Patricia Merriman Individual · British · DOB 10/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Edward Aiden Merriman Individual · British · DOB 04/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Transport & logistics · SE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A I AKAWEZE LTD→ 15657513 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A7 BURCO LTD→ 15232446 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AA & NESSA LTD→ 12058484 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AAA SOUTH LONDON STORAGE LTD→ 14621406 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AAN LOGISTIC LTD→ 12842661 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABBEY WOOD STATION MINICABS LIMITED→ 09171054 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ABBEYROCKINS LIMITED→ 16672149 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABDM SOLUTION LINK LTD→ 14332362 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AC DRIVE LTD→ 09636632 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACE FREIGHT LTD.→ 04264420 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ACV TRANSPORT LIMITED→ 12917510 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ADALINE RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING LTD→ 16391934 · est 2025 · 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
Incorporated2005-07-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC52103 — SIC 52103
Registered office
Unit 7 Lombard Trading Estate
51 Anchor And Hope Lane
London
SE7 7SN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-20
Last: 2025-07-06
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
MERRIMAN, Deborah Patricia→
Activesecretary · appointed 2005-07-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MERRIMAN, Edward Aiden→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2005-07-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (49 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-17
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-10-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-06