ACORN HOUSE (FOSTERING SERVICES) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
06437368 · ltd · incorporated 2007-11-26
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 Oct 2025
Net worth
£54.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other social work activities without accommodation n.e.c.
Sector: Human health & social work
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -42% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. 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
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
55 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 · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £54,603
Net assets shrinking
Down £45,524 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 42% YoY
Cash YoY
-42%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£102k
↓ 42% YoY
Net Worth
£55k
↓ 45% YoY
Current Assets
£102k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£35k£70k£105k£140k£175kOct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Total assets£54.6k£100.1k
Current assets£101.6k£175.4k
Cash£101.6k£175.4k
Net assets£54.6k£100.1k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-04-23
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  4. 2025-04-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2025-04-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2025-04-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2025-04-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2024-02-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2023-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-11-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2023-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-01-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2007-11-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN HOUSE (FOSTERING SERVICES) LIMITED
  18. 2007-11-26
    ➕
    HOPKINS, Gail Marie appointed
    secretary
  19. 2007-11-26
    ➕
    HOPKINS, Gail Marie appointed
    director
  20. 2007-11-26
    ➕
    HOPKINS, Ian appointed
    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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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
Mrs Gail Marie Hopkins
Individual · British · DOB 09/1962 · age 64
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control01/09/2017
Mr Ian Hopkins
Individual · British · DOB 08/1964 · age 62
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control07/04/2016

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
Incorporated2007-11-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC88990 — Other social work activities without accommodation n.e.c.

Registered office

Hollinwood Business Centre
Albert Street
Oldham
OL8 3QL
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-01
Last: 2025-12-18

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

HOPKINS, Gail Marie→
secretary · appointed 2007-11-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOPKINS, Gail Marie→
director · ~64y · appointed 2007-11-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOPKINS, Ian→
director · ~62y · appointed 2007-11-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (55 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-24
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-04-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-04-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-18
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-11-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-12