AC SOFTWARE LTD
🌳Matureactive
08415238 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-22
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Feb 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. 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 (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
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 | 2026-02-28 | 2025-02-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-15📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2017-04-06➕COOMBES, Glenda appointeddirector
- 2016-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-02-22🏢Company incorporatedAs AC SOFTWARE LTD
- 2013-02-22➕COOMBES, Andrew Alistair appointeddirector
Owner dependency
79/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Alistair Coombes Individual · British · DOB 07/1966 · age 60 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 18/03/2021 |
Mrs Glenda Coombes Individual · British · DOB 12/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. BAKER & CO. LIMITED→ 09315506 · est 2014 | — | — | £6.4k | — | 11y | — | — |
| AJP FAMILY LIMITED→ 11135467 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AMBIRE ADVISORY LIMITED→ 16323887 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMD ROCKET SERVICES LIMITED→ 15202363 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AMK MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS LTD→ 13120436 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ANALYSIS EVOLUTION LIMITED→ 13134935 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ANAPTYX UK LTD→ 14031307 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ANDREW & JAMES PARTNERSHIP LIMITED→ 04370840 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ANDREW M JOHNSON LTD→ 09121062 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ANDREW SMITH MARKETING LTD→ 12263926 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ANDREW SMITH OIL AND GAS LTD→ 09656475 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ANDREWS PROPERTY SERVICES UK LIMITED→ 09790206 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2013-02-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities
Registered office
10 Clos Caer Wern
Castle View
Caerphilly
CF83 1SQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-11-30
Last made up to: 2026-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-08
Last: 2026-02-22
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
COOMBES, Andrew Alistair→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2013-02-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COOMBES, Glenda→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2017-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-24