ACROW RECRUITMENT LTD
💤Zombieactive
07637730 · ltd · incorporated 2011-05-17
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£163.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Temporary employment agency activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 53). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 14.7y
15/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 14.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
46 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £163,610
Net assets shrinking
Down £20,327 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 52% YoY
Cash YoY
-52%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£17k
↓ 52% YoY
Net Worth
£164k
↓ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£299k
↓ 44% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £193.7k | £220.3k |
| Current assets | £298.8k | £529.1k |
| Cash | £17.3k | £35.7k |
| Debtors | £281.5k | £493.4k |
| Net assets | £163.6k | £183.9k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal 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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-16📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-01-16📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-01-16🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Skipton Business Finance LTD
- 2025-01-16🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2024-10-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-10-12🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2021-10-11📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2021-10-11🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Abn Amro Asset Based Finance N.V.
- 2021-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-08-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-08-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-01🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2015-09-28🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Abn Amro Commercial Finance PLC
- 2011-09-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
- 2011-05-17🏢Company incorporatedAs ACROW RECRUITMENT LTD
- 2011-05-17➕MAHER, Albert appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
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 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Albert Maher Individual · Irish · DOB 03/1973 · 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.
🔒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 · Professional services · SG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A HILTON LTD→ 08337589 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| A.F.T. HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 05932388 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ACM CAMBIZ LTD→ 15706070 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACUTELY AWARE LTD→ 15549053 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AD ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ 04501559 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ADDAPTIVE GROUP LIMITED→ 12562992 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ADELAIDE UK LIMITED→ 03016577 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ADMIN PLUS (EUROPE) LIMITED→ 05131593 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ADVISER LEGAL LIMITED→ 16202029 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AEGIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS LTD→ 13322391 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AFFECTIVE MINDS LTD→ 13572717 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AFFINITY 3 LTD→ 14176659 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-05-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC78200 — Temporary employment agency activities
Registered office
Business & Technology Centre
Bessemer Drive
Stevenage
SG1 2DX
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last: 2026-05-17
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
MAHER, Albert→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2011-05-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Skipton Business Finance Skipton Business Finance LTD | A registered charge | 1 property | 16/01/2025 | — | |
| satisfied | Abn Amro Asset Based Finance N.V. | A registered charge | 1 property | 11/10/2021 | 16/01/2025 | |
| satisfied | Abn Amro Commercial Finance Abn Amro Commercial Finance PLC | A registered charge | — | 28/09/2015 | 12/10/2021 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited | All assets debenture | 1 property | 23/09/2011 | 01/06/2016 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (46 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-29
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-01-16
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-01-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-22
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-12
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2021-10-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-31