ACORN FASTENERS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07257461 · ltd · incorporated 2010-05-18
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
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46140
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
35 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.
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 | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-05-24📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-05-23📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2016-03-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-10📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-04-08✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2010-05-18🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN FASTENERS LIMITED
- 2010-05-18➕TILL, Christopher Peter appointedsecretary
- 2010-05-18➕TILL, Christopher Peter appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 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 64. 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 16 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 Christopher Peter Till Individual · British · DOB 05/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/10/2016 |
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 · Wholesale & distribution · BN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 202 INTERIORS COMMERCIAL AGENCY LTD→ 15499681 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 2739 TRADE AND FINANCE LTD→ 13506497 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 4TFY FITNESS LTD→ 17096681 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 STAR WHOLSALE LIMITED→ 16785661 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5025 LIFESTYLE LTD→ 12731398 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A.D.R. (SUSSEX) LIMITED→ 04209440 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| A&GGOODS LTD→ 16835147 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A1 TROPICAL LIMITED→ 13451040 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABIES ESSENTIALS LIMITED→ 16845350 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCURATE DIE CAST LIMITED→ 03291444 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ACOPIA HOLDINGS LTD→ 07569033 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ACORN FOODSERVICES LIMITED→ 10640758 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-05-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46140 — SIC 46140
Registered office
Unit 16 Mid Sussex Business Park
Ditchling Common
Hassocks
East Sussex
BN6 8SE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-01
Last: 2025-05-18
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
TILL, Christopher Peter→
Activesecretary · appointed 2010-05-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TILL, Christopher Peter→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2010-05-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (35 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-03-13