ACU TRADING LTD

🌳Matureactive

09119389 · ltd · incorporated 2014-07-07

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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Human resources provision and management of human resources functions

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

16 officers (3 active, 16 linked, 13 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

55 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (48 events)Click to expand

2026-05-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-05-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-07-19
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-06-30
➖
HARRISON, Caroline resigned
director
2024-06-13
➕
BASHAR, Khairul appointed
secretary
2024-06-13
➖
HARRISON, Caroline resigned
secretary
2024-06-13
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-06-13
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-03-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-12-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-12-18
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-12-05
➕
FABUNMI, Benjamin appointed
director
2023-12-05
➖
RYDER-DOWNES, Tarrance Albert resigned
director
2023-09-12
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-09-06
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-09-05
➕
RIORDAN, Colin Bryan, Professor appointed
director
2023-09-05
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-09-04
➖
NEWMAN, Joanna Frances, Professor resigned
director
2023-09-04
➕
RYDER-DOWNES, Tarrance Albert appointed
director
2023-03-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-01-09
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-01-03
➖
JENKINS, Jonathan Kingsley, Dr resigned
director
2022-01-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-01-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2020-04-28
📄
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2020-04-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-13
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2019-12-06
➖
HALLS, Benjamin James resigned
director
2019-05-09
➕
HARRISON, Caroline appointed
secretary
2019-05-09
➖
STEPHENSON, Norman Keith, Revd resigned
secretary
2019-05-09
➕
HARRISON, Caroline appointed
director
2019-05-09
➖
STEPHENSON, Norman Keith, Rev resigned
director
2019-03-12
➖
BEZENAR, Colin Anthony resigned
director
2019-02-04
➕
BEZENAR, Colin Anthony appointed
director
2017-10-24
➖
KIRKLAND, John, Dr resigned
director
2017-05-07
➕
NEWMAN, Joanna Frances, Professor appointed
director
2017-04-01
➖
WOOD, John Vivian, Professor resigned
director
2016-03-25
➖
ACHAMPONG, Joyce resigned
director
2014-08-06
➕
STEPHENSON, Norman Keith, Revd appointed
secretary
2014-08-06
➕
ACHAMPONG, Joyce appointed
director
2014-08-06
➕
HALLS, Benjamin James appointed
director
2014-08-06
➕
JENKINS, Jonathan Kingsley, Dr appointed
director
2014-08-06
➕
KIRKLAND, John, Dr appointed
director
2014-08-06
➖
SMITH, Julian Arthur Vaughan resigned
director
2014-08-06
➕
STEPHENSON, Norman Keith, Rev appointed
director
2014-08-06
➕
WOOD, John Vivian, Professor appointed
director
2014-07-07
🏢
Company incorporated
As ACU TRADING LTD
2014-07-07
➕
SMITH, Julian Arthur Vaughan appointed
director

Owner dependency

73/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material 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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

56/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.

Red flags

clean

No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Association Of Commonwealth Universities is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Association Of Commonwealth Universities

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

ACU TRADING LTD

This company · 09119389

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Association Of Commonwealth Universities Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

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ACE APOSTILLE UK LTD→ 16133201 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACRE RESOURCES LIMITED→ 04889608 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
ACT PERSONNEL LTD→ 15715986 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACTION & ANSWERS LTD→ 07075545 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ACTIVE CAPITAL LTD→ 13535904 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ACTUAL INTELLIGENCE (EMEA) LTD→ 10007554 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
ACTUAL INTELLIGENCE LTD→ 05392039 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
ACTUS RECRUITMENT GROUP LTD→ 16226014 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACU MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 10365567 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ACUITY KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS (UK) LIMITED→ 04590033 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
ACUMEN ACQUISITION GROUP LTD→ 17057071 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ACYCLE LTD→ 15576074 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

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

Incorporated2014-07-07

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC78300 — Human resources provision and management of human resources functions

Registered office

Woburn House

20-24 Tavistock Square

London

WC1H 9HF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-21

Last: 2025-07-07

Officers (3 active · 13 resigned)

BASHAR, Khairul→

secretary · appointed 2024-06-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FABUNMI, Benjamin→

director · ~61y · appointed 2023-12-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RIORDAN, Colin Bryan, Professor→

director · ~67y · appointed 2023-09-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HARRISON, Caroline→

secretary · appointed 2019-05-09 · resigned 2024-06-13

Resigned

STEPHENSON, Norman Keith, Revd→

secretary · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2019-05-09

Resigned

ACHAMPONG, Joyce→

director · ~46y · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2016-03-25

Resigned

BEZENAR, Colin Anthony→

director · ~50y · appointed 2019-02-04 · resigned 2019-03-12

Resigned

HALLS, Benjamin James→

director · ~50y · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2019-12-06

Resigned

HARRISON, Caroline→

director · ~57y · appointed 2019-05-09 · resigned 2024-06-30

Resigned

JENKINS, Jonathan Kingsley, Dr→

director · ~60y · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2023-01-03

Resigned

KIRKLAND, John, Dr→

director · ~68y · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2017-10-24

Resigned

NEWMAN, Joanna Frances, Professor→

director · ~63y · appointed 2017-05-07 · resigned 2023-09-04

Resigned

RYDER-DOWNES, Tarrance Albert→

director · ~48y · appointed 2023-09-04 · resigned 2023-12-05

Resigned

SMITH, Julian Arthur Vaughan→

director · ~57y · appointed 2014-07-07 · resigned 2014-08-06

Resigned

STEPHENSON, Norman Keith, Rev→

director · ~64y · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2019-05-09

Resigned

WOOD, John Vivian, Professor→

director · ~77y · appointed 2014-08-06 · resigned 2017-04-01

Resigned

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

Recent filings (55 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2026-05-04

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-07-07

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2025-05-09

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-07-19

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2024-07-19

termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM02

2024-06-13

appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date

officers · AP03

2024-06-13

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2024-03-02

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-12-18

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2023-12-18

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-09-12

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2023-09-06

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2023-09-05

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-07-14

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2023-03-10