ACME BUS CO LIMITED
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. 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).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 13.1y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 13.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (73/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsFinancials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|
| Average employees | 7500 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
2 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
- • 1 address
- • 1 address
- • 1 address
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-30📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-30📄accounts-amended-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AAMD
- 2021-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-04-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-04-22📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-03-22📄accounts-amended-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AAMD
- 2020-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-04📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2020-03-04🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2019-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2013-04-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
- 2010-09-07🏢Company incorporatedAs ACME BUS CO LIMITED
- 2010-09-07➕SINNOTT, Robert James Paul appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert James Paul Sinnott Individual · British · DOB 02/1973 · age 53 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ) | A registered charge | 1 property | 22/04/2013 | 04/03/2020 |