ACE GLASS COMPANY (CHELMSFORD) LTD
💤Zombieactive
07507083 · ltd · incorporated 2011-01-27
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). 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 (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
42 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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 300 | 300 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-05📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-05➖BUTCHER, Joan resigneddirector
- 2023-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-06-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-05-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-05-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-05-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-05-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-05-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-02-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2011-01-27🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE GLASS COMPANY (CHELMSFORD) LTD
- 2011-01-27➕BUTCHER, Michael Victor appointeddirector
- 2011-01-27➕BUTCHER, Joan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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 15 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Victor Butcher Individual · British · DOB 06/1946 · age 80 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 01/10/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A DOGS LIFE ESSEX LTD→ 16395886 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AA SAFETY GROUP LTD→ 14842908 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABBA8 LTD→ 11314694 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACCESS ALL CLEANING LTD→ 12729202 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACHIEVERS CLEANING LIMITED→ 16811777 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACL COMMERCIAL LTD→ 09944453 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACP TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT LTD→ 06387077 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ACT TO CHANGE LIMITED→ 06454652 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ACTITRAC SOFTWARE LIMITED→ 06757448 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ACTIVE BODY CLINIC LTD→ 08361968 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ACTIVEALLDAYFITNESS LTD→ 16322537 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAM GLOBAL NETWORK LIMITED→ 17047747 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2011-01-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Aquarium,Suite 7b
101 Lower Anchor Street
Chelmsford
Essex
CM2 0AU
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-14
Last: 2026-05-31
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
BUTCHER, Michael Victor→
Activedirector · ~80y · appointed 2011-01-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BUTCHER, Joan→
Resigneddirector · ~90y · appointed 2011-01-27 · resigned 2025-02-05
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (42 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-02
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-05-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-05-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-05-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-05-31