ACE FURNACE CONSULTING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

05872617 · ltd · incorporated 2006-07-11

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£33.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

47 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £33,059

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£33k

↑ 3.1% YoY

Current Assets

£69k

↓ 18% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£33.1k	£32.1k
Current assets	£68.9k	£84.1k
Net assets	£33.1k	£32.1k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand

2025-12-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-12-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-01-07
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-01-07
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2015-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-10
➖
CARROLL, Lynn Michelle resigned
secretary
2015-12-10
➖
CARROLL, Lynn Michelle resigned
director
2015-08-03
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2006-07-11
🏢
Company incorporated
As ACE FURNACE CONSULTING LIMITED
2006-07-11
➕
CARROLL, Gerard Marcus appointed
director
2006-07-11
➕
CARROLL, Lynn Michelle appointed
secretary
2006-07-11
➕
CARROLL, Lynn Michelle appointed
director

Owner dependency

100/100

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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. 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 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Gerard Marcus Carroll Individual · British · DOB 01/1960 · age 66	50–75%	50–75%	sig. influence50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · significant influence · firm interest	11/07/2016
Mrs Lynn Michelle Carroll Individual · British · DOB 06/1961 · age 65	25–50%	25–50%	sig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence · firm interest	11/07/2016

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

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AH PHARMA RECRUITERS LTD→ 16530168 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AIMEE ADAMS CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ 14721286 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AJ CHEF CONSULTANT LTD→ 16963354 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AJK FINANCE SYSTEMS LTD→ 16143008 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AJP TRADING SERVICES LTD→ 12784740 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AJSD GROUP LIMITED→ 10790849 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AKEMAN MOTORHOMES LIMITED→ 14861499 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AKH ADVISORY LTD→ 15808548 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AKINZ CARE LTD→ 11923288 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
AKIRA ENTERPRISE LIMITED→ 16165454 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AKLASS SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16034438 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AKR SYSTEMS VALIDATION LTD→ 14723982 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2006-07-11

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

1 Rachels Way

Chesham

Bucks

HP5 1SZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-25

Last: 2025-07-11

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

CARROLL, Gerard Marcus→

director · ~66y · appointed 2006-07-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CARROLL, Lynn Michelle→

secretary · appointed 2006-07-11 · resigned 2015-12-10

Resigned

CARROLL, Lynn Michelle→

director · ~65y · appointed 2006-07-11 · resigned 2015-12-10

Resigned

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