ACA RETAIL LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
08417386 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-25
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 6.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 6.3y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 6.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
36 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1700 | 1400 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-21📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-07-21🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2021-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-30📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-01-28🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2019-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-06-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-03📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2018-03-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-04➖ABBOTT, Vivienne Iris resigneddirector
- 2016-03-01➖ABBOTT, Jeffery Ian resignedsecretary
- 2013-02-25🏢Company incorporatedAs ACA RETAIL LIMITED
- 2013-02-25➕ABBOTT, Christopher Alan appointeddirector
- 2013-02-25➕ABBOTT, Jeffery Ian appointeddirector
- 2013-02-25➕ABBOTT, Jeffery Ian appointedsecretary
- 2013-02-25➕ABBOTT, Vivienne Iris appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
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.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
49/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- 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 Christopher Alan Abbott Individual · British · DOB 04/1979 · age 47 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/02/2017 |
Mr Jeffery Ian Abbott Individual · British · DOB 09/1983 · age 43 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/02/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| A.E. WAKEMAN & SONS LIMITED→ 01335038 · est 1977 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 48y | — | — |
| A.L.MARTIN & SON,LIMITED→ 00490040 · est 1951 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 75y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTELY MINTAGE LIMITED→ 10789874 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2013-02-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47520 — Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
Registered office
Orchard Corner Toadpit Lane
West Hill
Ottery St. Mary
EX11 1TR
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-11
Last: 2025-06-27
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
ABBOTT, Christopher Alan→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2013-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ABBOTT, Jeffery Ian→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2013-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ABBOTT, Jeffery Ian→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2013-02-25 · resigned 2016-03-01
ABBOTT, Vivienne Iris→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2013-02-25 · resigned 2017-08-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 28/01/2020 | 21/07/2022 |
Recent filings (36 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-20
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-25