ACORN SAFETY CONSULTANTS LTD

💤Zombieactive
06644769 · ltd · incorporated 2008-07-14
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 Dec 2025
Net worth
£10.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -50% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £10,053
Net assets shrinking
Down £10,441 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 50% YoY
Cash YoY
-50%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£12k
↓ 50% YoY
Net Worth
£10k
↓ 51% YoY
Current Assets
£13k
↓ 54% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£12k£17k£23k£29kDec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Total assets£10.4k£21.0k
Current assets£13.3k£29.0k
Cash£12.0k£24.1k
Debtors£1.2k£4.9k
Net assets£10.1k£20.5k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-04-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2023-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-01
    ➖
    OLDCORN, Dagmar Elisabeth resigned
    director
  7. 2022-09-14
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  8. 2022-09-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2022-09-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2022-09-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2022-09-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2022-09-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2022-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2013-03-07
    ➕
    OLDCORN, Dagmar Elisabeth appointed
    director
  19. 2009-10-07
    ➖
    OLDCORN, Keith resigned
    director
  20. 2008-07-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN SAFETY CONSULTANTS LTD
  21. 2008-07-14
    ➕
    OLDCORN, Richard John appointed
    secretary
  22. 2008-07-14
    ➕
    OLDCORN, Richard John appointed
    director
  23. 2008-07-14
    ➕
    OLDCORN, Keith appointed
    director

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Richard John Oldcorn
Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mrs Dagmar Elisabeth Oldcorn
Individual · German · DOB 03/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

7 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
Incorporated2008-07-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

40 Market Place
Belper
Derbyshire
DE56 1FZ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-28
Last: 2025-07-14

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

OLDCORN, Richard John→
secretary · appointed 2008-07-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OLDCORN, Richard John→
director · ~61y · appointed 2008-07-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OLDCORN, Dagmar Elisabeth→
director · ~58y · appointed 2013-03-07 · resigned 2023-01-01
Resigned
OLDCORN, Keith→
director · ~82y · appointed 2008-07-14 · resigned 2009-10-07
Resigned

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

Recent filings (55 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-03-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-03-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-18
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-04-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-09-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-09-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-09-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-28