ACORN MORTGAGE SERVICES (ESSEX) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
05775002 · ltd · incorporated 2006-04-10
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of insurance agents and brokers
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (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
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30

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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  3. 2024-12-18
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  4. 2024-12-18
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  5. 2024-12-13
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  6. 2024-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-04-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2023-04-27
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2023-04-25
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2023-04-11
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2023-04-11
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2023-04-06
    ➕
    SMITH, Connor appointed
    director
  15. 2022-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2021-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2010-04-01
    ➖
    SMITH, Eric John resigned
    director
  20. 2006-04-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN MORTGAGE SERVICES (ESSEX) LIMITED
  21. 2006-04-10
    ➕
    BEEDLE, Christine Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  22. 2006-04-10
    ➕
    SMITH, Mark Alan appointed
    director
  23. 2006-04-10
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2006-04-10
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2006-04-10
    ➕
    SMITH, Eric John appointed
    director
  26. 2006-04-10
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2006-04-10
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

36/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — SMITH, Connor (same surname) appointed 2023-04-06. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Alan Smith
Individual · British · DOB 11/1965 · age 61
50–75%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest10/04/2017
Mr Connor Smith
Individual · English · DOB 11/1998 · age 28
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2023

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

6 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
Incorporated2006-04-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC66220 — Activities of insurance agents and brokers

Registered office

Northgate House
Plough Road Great Bentley
Essex
CO7 8LG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-27
Last: 2026-01-13

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

BEEDLE, Christine Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2006-04-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Connor→
director · ~28y · appointed 2023-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Mark Alan→
director · ~61y · appointed 2006-04-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-04-10 · resigned 2006-04-10
Resigned
SMITH, Eric John→
director · ~95y · appointed 2006-04-10 · resigned 2010-04-01
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-04-10 · resigned 2006-04-10
Resigned

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

Recent filings (61 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-13
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-12-18
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-12-18
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-12-18
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11