ACUMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07726810 · ltd · incorporated 2011-08-02
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Solicitors
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
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
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
37 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
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
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-05-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-05-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-04-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2011-08-02🏢Company incorporatedAs ACUMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE LIMITED
- 2011-08-02➕SHEPHERD, Penina appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
- +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
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Penina Shepherd Individual · British · DOB 09/1967 · age 59 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 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 · BN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADAM JAMES FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 10021769 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADAM MALE CONSULTING LIMITED→ 12177708 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADAM SIMS AND COMPANY LIMITED→ 07559053 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ADAPTATION DESIGN & SUPPORT SERVICES LIMITED→ 07533400 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ADAPTHAT LTD→ 15773167 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAPTIVE AUTOMATION LTD→ 15874728 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADDING IT UP LTD→ 14671712 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADELAIDE PROPERTY HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 02910481 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| ADG MARSH CONSULTING LIMITED→ 15003832 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADH IFA LTD→ 08959608 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ADM ADVISORS LTD→ 16818457 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADP ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD→ 11512456 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-08-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors
Registered office
Regent House
Hove Street
Hove
East Sussex
BN3 2DW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-14
Last: 2026-03-31
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
SHEPHERD, Penina→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2011-08-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (37 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-07
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-12-31