ACORN SERVICES (HERTS) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
08206271 · ltd · incorporated 2012-09-07
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
£-58.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 01630Post-harvest crop activities
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 73/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

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, 2 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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
39 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £57,964

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£58k
↑ 62% YoY
Current Assets
£71k
↑ 816% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£155k-£109k-£64k-£19k£26k£71kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£-39.1k£-140.1k
Current assets£71.5k£7.8k
Net assets£-58.0k£-154.5k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-18
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  6. 2023-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-03-10
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  8. 2023-02-28
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  9. 2021-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-10-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2021-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-12-31
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  14. 2019-05-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2018-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-08-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2018-08-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  18. 2012-09-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN SERVICES (HERTS) LIMITED
  19. 2012-09-07
    ➕
    BACON, Samuel James Douglas appointed
    director

Owner dependency

80/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

58/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple 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 14 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Samuel James Douglas Bacon
Individual · British · DOB 07/1989 · age 37
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · AL postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AGRI CORP LIMITED→
06024854 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y——
ARION SHOW JUMPERS LIMITED→
06129978 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————19y——
BEAUMONT BERRY CONSULTING LIMITED→
16122621 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BEEKIND HONEY AND WAX LTD→
14637888 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
BEHR & SON LIMITED→
12682409 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
BLACK RIVER (TECHNICAL SERVICES) LIMITED→
03114654 · est 1995 · no financials extracted
————30y——
CHESS VALLEY ANGLERS LIMITED→
03979547 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
————25y——
COLCLOUGH GAME AND SPORTING LTD→
14542817 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
CORK MANAGEMENT LIMITED→
17114644 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
D&R ESTATE SERVICES LTD→
15600088 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
DANECROFT STABLES LTD→
12353772 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
DOC POLO BREEDING LTD→
13805058 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
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
Incorporated2012-09-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production

Registered office

C/O East Herts Accountants Ltd T/A Mtm 2 Falcon Gate
Shire Park
Welwyn Garden City
AL7 1TW
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-30
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-21
Last: 2025-09-07

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

BACON, Samuel James Douglas→
director · ~37y · appointed 2012-09-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (39 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-15
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-17
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2023-03-10
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-10