ACORN UPHOLSTERY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

06478775 · ltd · incorporated 2008-01-21

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 Jan 2026

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Manufacture of other furniture

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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 (75/100)

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

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2026-01-31	2025-01-31

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-05-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-13
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accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-07
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accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-07-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-08-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2018-07-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2017-07-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-04
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-01-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-01-23
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2008-01-22
➖
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2008-01-22
➖
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2008-01-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As ACORN UPHOLSTERY LIMITED
2008-01-21
➕
LANE, Richard William appointed
secretary
2008-01-21
➕
DOUGLAS, Robert Fraser appointed
director
2008-01-21
➕
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2008-01-21
➕
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100

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 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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 Robert Fraser Douglas Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67	25–50%	25–50%	board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control	01/11/2016
Mrs Amanda Douglas Individual · British · DOB 06/1964 · age 62	25–50%	25–50%	board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control	01/11/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · SL postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
22OVERSEVEN LTD→ 16956013 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3D PRINTING ACADEMY LTD→ 14919381 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
A J B ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ 04506799 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
A1 MAILBOX LTD→ 12821131 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AARTIST JEWELLERY LTD→ 15095427 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ACANA LIMITED→ 06763968 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
ACCOKG PLC→ 15934101 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACE COLD LTD→ 15221780 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ACTIVE ELECTRICAL MOTION LIMITED→ 08963712 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
ACTIVE ENGINEERING (GB) LIMITED→ 04813906 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
AD PLASTICS LTD→ 04792555 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
ADAM'S REPAIRS AND SUPPLY LTD→ 16915361 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2008-01-21

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC31090 — Manufacture of other furniture

Registered office

Denmark House 143 High Street

Chalfont St. Peter

Gerrards Cross

Buckinghamshire

SL9 9QL

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-10-31

Last made up to: 2026-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-02

Last: 2026-01-19

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

LANE, Richard William→

secretary · appointed 2008-01-21

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DOUGLAS, Robert Fraser→

director · ~67y · appointed 2008-01-21

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2008-01-21 · resigned 2008-01-22

Resigned

FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2008-01-21 · resigned 2008-01-22

Resigned

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