ACORN COMPUTERS (CAMBRIDGE) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07098514 · ltd · incorporated 2009-12-08
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 26200
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 58290Other software publishing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 2 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
41 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-12-06📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-12-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-12-15📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2017-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2010-11-12➕HODSON, Robin Edward appointeddirector
- 2010-11-12➖VALAITIS, Peter Anthony resigneddirector
- 2009-12-08🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN COMPUTERS (CAMBRIDGE) LIMITED
- 2009-12-08➕VALAITIS, Peter Anthony appointeddirector
Owner dependency
85/100
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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 Robin Edward Hodson Individual · British · DOB 01/1971 · age 55 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/12/2025 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Ian Karleyceased 06/12/2025· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · SN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 RAJ LTD→ 14676673 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 6880 BETTON GRANGE (SOCIETY) LIMITED→ 04785581 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| 6IXTY 5IVE PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 16024583 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A & G ESCROW TAPES LIMITED→ 13562680 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A C E MARQUETRY LIMITED→ 07429157 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| A G AUTOMATION LIMITED→ 08886445 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| A.J.M. ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 01581154 · est 1981 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 44y | — | — |
| ABSTRACT I.T. MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 08515920 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AC PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 04815509 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ACORN JOINERY BATH LTD→ 07198919 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ACRES RETAIL LTD→ 12574136 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACTIVATE WEAR LTD→ 16265118 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-12-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC26200 — SIC 26200
Registered office
8 Westbrook Close
Frogwell Lane
Chippenham
SN14 0DL
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-22
Last: 2025-12-08
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
HODSON, Robin Edward→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2010-11-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
VALAITIS, Peter Anthony→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 2009-12-08 · resigned 2010-11-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (41 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-01-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-12-06
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-04-21