AKO SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06569110 · ltd · incorporated 2008-04-17
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£44.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Washing and (dry-)cleaning of textile and fur products
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 16.5y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 16.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £44,421
Cash YoY
+610%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£25k
↑ 610% YoY
Net Worth
£44k
↑ 5884% YoY
Current Assets
£32k
↑ 161% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £49.8k | £37.9k |
| Current assets | £32.1k | £12.3k |
| Cash | £25.4k | £3.6k |
| Debtors | £6.2k | £8.2k |
| Net assets | £44.4k | £-768 |
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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-24📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2020-04-24🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2019-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-06-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-05-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2009-12-08🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC T/a Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance
- 2008-04-17🏢Company incorporatedAs AKO SERVICES LIMITED
- 2008-04-17➕ATKINSON, Paul appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 18 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Paul William Atkinson Individual · British · DOB 04/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · SR postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & J P LIMITED→ 15654991 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A NEW ERA LIMITED→ 14933321 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A.N. SANDERSON & CO. (LANDSCAPE GARDENERS) LIMITED→ 00699219 · est 1961 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 64y | — | — |
| ACT INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT SERVICES LTD→ 15894811 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AD CLEANING SERVICES LTD→ 15764007 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AD EQUINE LIMITED→ 12164562 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADIO SERVICES LTD→ 10470476 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ADMIN 4U LIMITED→ 06633399 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AFC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD→ 15255114 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AFROLINK LTD→ 11180157 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AFT MILFIELD LIMITED→ 13152974 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALEX 55 LTD→ 15104125 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-04-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96010 — Washing and (dry-)cleaning of textile and fur products
Registered office
8 Roker Park Road
Roker
Sunderland
Tyne & Wear
SR6 9PF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-01
Last: 2026-04-17
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
ATKINSON, Paul→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2008-04-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Hitachi Capital (UK) T/a Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC T/a Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance | Debenture | 1 property | 08/12/2009 | 24/04/2020 |
Recent filings (42 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-29
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-21