ACS HYDROCARBONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
09265706 · ltd · incorporated 2014-10-15
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
£551.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 09100
Sector: Mining & quarrying
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 70). 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 (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
23 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 £551,247
Net assets shrinking
Down £18,942 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£551k
↓ 3.3% YoY
Current Assets
£556k
↓ 4.1% 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 | £551.2k | £570.2k |
| Current assets | £556.2k | £580.1k |
| Net assets | £551.2k | £570.2k |
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 (15 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-02📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2020-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-10-15🏢Company incorporatedAs ACS HYDROCARBONS LIMITED
- 2014-10-15➕SCOTT, Alistair Cargill appointeddirector
- 2014-10-15📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
95/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alistair Cargill Scott Individual · British · DOB 03/1956 · age 70 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 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 SMART PHULL ALUMINIUM BIFOLDING DOORS AND WINDOWS LTD→ 13156390 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A SMITH ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 14614427 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A.S. PRESSURE ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 04282130 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| APPLE PRINT & CREATIVE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 09103910 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| APPLE PRINT LIMITED→ 02001899 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 40y | — | — |
| APPLERANGE LIMITED→ 01894501 · est 1985 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| APPLIANCE BOOK LTD→ 08731306 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| APPLIED TRAFFIC LIMITED→ 04265207 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| APPLIED VWS LIMITED→ 16198200 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| APPSOFFICIAL LTD→ 15785001 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AQUAFACTORS LTD→ 08165044 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AQUALITY POOL SERVICE LIMITED→ 15407117 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-10-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC09100 — SIC 09100
Registered office
5 The Grange
Shepherds Lane
Reading
RG4 7HZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-29
Last: 2025-10-15
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
SCOTT, Alistair Cargill→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2014-10-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (23 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-23
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2021-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-12