ACORN UPHOLSTERY EASTBOURNE LTD

💤Zombieactive

06603974 · ltd · incorporated 2008-05-28

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 May 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company 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

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

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

43 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 · FRS 102

Metric	2025-05-31	2024-05-31
Average employees	100	100

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2026-01-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-02-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-07-16
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2018-02-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-04-19
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2017-02-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-02-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-02-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2008-05-28
🏢
Company incorporated
As ACORN UPHOLSTERY EASTBOURNE LTD
2008-05-28
➕
VICKERS, Ian appointed
director
2008-05-28
➕
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
corporate-director
2008-05-28
➖
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
corporate-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 66 — 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 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.
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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Ian Vickers Individual · British · DOB 01/1960 · age 66	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.

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365 ASTRONOMY LIMITED→ 13287583 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
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4 BOSS LTD→ 11725565 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
717BROS LTD→ 16216949 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
A2Z SUSSEX LTD→ 15383682 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AARISH LTD→ 14776625 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ABA VIZ LTD→ 16971855 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABP LONDON LIMITED→ 14139581 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ABYSS SCUBA LTD→ 16652590 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ACKERMAN MUSIC LIMITED→ 04559582 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
ACORNS EDUCATION GROUP LTD→ 15662450 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACP TRADING LIMITED→ 09819928 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—

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

Incorporated2008-05-28

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC47599 — Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Registered office

Unit 5 14 Beach Road

Eastbourne

BN22 7EX

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-02

Last: 2026-02-16

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

VICKERS, Ian→

director · ~66y · appointed 2008-05-28

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→

corporate-director · appointed 2008-05-28 · resigned 2008-05-28

Resigned

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