ACORN TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANTS LTD
💤Zombieactive
08724011 · ltd · incorporated 2013-10-08
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£1.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle 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: medium (79/100)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
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
24 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,167
Net assets shrinking
Down £2,504 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£1k
↓ 68% YoY
Current Assets
£1k
↓ 67% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.2k | £3.7k |
| Current assets | £1.3k | £3.8k |
| Net assets | £1.2k | £3.7k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (16 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-30📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-03-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-11-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-10-08🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANTS LTD
- 2013-10-08➕HEFFERON, Gary Robert appointeddirector
- 2013-10-08📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
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 60 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 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 60. 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 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gary Robert Hefferon Individual · British · DOB 04/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/10/2016 |
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.E.LAWSON PLUMBING & HEATING LTD→ 08806151 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ABLE JOINERY (LONDON) LIMITED→ 04251929 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ABPHYSIOS LTD→ 11344724 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABZ MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 04610582 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ACE AGILE CONSULTING LIMITED→ 14835530 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACE FACILITIES SOLUTIONS LTD→ 15950116 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LTD→ 10362522 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACE FUNDING LTD→ 17078684 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACELROY LIMITED→ 15916670 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACERTIA LIMITED→ 08668915 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ACORN ADMINISTRATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES LTD→ 14836582 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACSGHOLDINGS LTD→ 16273194 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-10-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Mulberry House
18a Ashfield Lane
Chislehurst
Kent
BR7 6LQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-18
Last: 2025-10-04
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
HEFFERON, Gary Robert→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2013-10-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (24 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-10-10