ACORN PLANNING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06929267 · ltd · incorporated 2009-06-10
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 Jun 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
70/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Architectural activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 70/100 (strong), bankability 55/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (53/100).

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 (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
41 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
70/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
55
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jun 2023Jun 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-06-302023-06-30
Average employees100100

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-11
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  2. 2025-06-11
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2025-06-01
    MARSHALL, Wendy appointed
    secretary
  4. 2025-06-01
    BOUGHEY, Sheila resigned
    secretary
  5. 2025-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-11-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2024-11-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2024-11-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2024-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-08-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2016-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2009-06-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN PLANNING LIMITED
  20. 2009-06-10
    BOUGHEY, Neil appointed
    director
  21. 2009-06-10
    BOUGHEY, Sheila appointed
    secretary

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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. 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 17 years.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-31

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Neil Boughey
Individual · British · DOB 08/1967 · age 59
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% 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

9 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
Incorporated2009-06-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities

Registered office

The Poplars
Bridge Street
Brigg
DN20 8NQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-03-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-24
Last: 2025-06-10

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

MARSHALL, Wendy
secretary · appointed 2025-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOUGHEY, Neil
director · ~59y · appointed 2009-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOUGHEY, Sheila
secretary · appointed 2009-06-10 · resigned 2025-06-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (41 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-11
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2025-06-11
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-06-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-11-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-30