ACUITY DIGITAL SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
09043408 · ltd · incorporated 2014-05-16
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 May 2025
Net worth
£-17.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
69/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other information technology service activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 69/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. 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
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
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
69/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £17,663
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£298
~ YoY
Net Worth
-£18k
~ YoY
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
-£18k-£14k-£10k-£7k-£3k£298May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£-3.8k£-3.8k
Cash£298£298
Net assets£-17.7k£-17.7k

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
2
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-28
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  2. 2026-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-09-09
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  4. 2025-08-05
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  5. 2025-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-02-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-08-07
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  12. 2019-08-06
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  13. 2019-08-01
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2019-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-11-07
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  16. 2018-09-11
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  17. 2018-08-07
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  18. 2018-05-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2014-05-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACUITY DIGITAL SERVICES LIMITED
  20. 2014-05-16
    DOW, Martin John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

88/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple 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 12 years.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2025-05-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Martin John Dow
Individual · British · DOB 04/1967 · age 59
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting01/04/2017

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2014-05-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62090 — Other information technology service activities

Registered office

Asm House
103a Keymer Road
Hassocks
West Sussex
BN6 8QL
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2025-05-30OVERDUE
Last: 2024-05-16

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

DOW, Martin John
director · ~59y · appointed 2014-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (42 total)

gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2026-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2025-09-09
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-02-27