ACE SAFES (UK) LTD
💤Zombieactive
09378499 · ltd · incorporated 2015-01-07
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£78.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 75). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 11.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
34 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £78,178
Cash YoY
+46%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£30k
↑ 46% YoY
Net Worth
£78k
↑ 48% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | £29.9k | £20.4k |
| Net assets | £78.2k | £52.8k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
6
filings
- • 5 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-02-04📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-01-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-01-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-17➖AYRES, Robert John resigneddirector
- 2017-05-16➕HOOKEY, Colin Denis appointeddirector
- 2016-06-22🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2015-05-20🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Just Cash Flow PLC
- 2015-01-07🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE SAFES (UK) LTD
- 2015-01-07➕AYRES, Robert John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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 75 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Joanne Kathryn Ayres Individual · British · DOB 04/1969 · age 57 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Robert John Ayresceased 02/02/2026· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control
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
Active · Trade services · BH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A EYE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 16898017 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A&F SOLUTIONS INT LIMITED→ 07473909 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ABM DRAINAGE LTD→ 14655957 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ABNEY PROPERTY SOLUTIONS LTD→ 05663495 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACBBAS LIMITED→ 12139280 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ACORN QUALITY SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 04134843 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ACTIVE ROOT NUTRITION LTD→ 15398903 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACTUA RISK LIMITED→ 04913662 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AD NEW MILTON LTD→ 11830263 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ADA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD→ 08248780 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ADAMS MARINE ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 16619749 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADAPT CONTRACTS LTD→ 06837430 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-01-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Towngate House
2-8 Parkstone Road
Poole
BH15 2PW
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-21
Last: 2026-01-07
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
HOOKEY, Colin Denis→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 2017-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
AYRES, Robert John→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · appointed 2015-01-07 · resigned 2017-05-17
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 | Just Cash Flow Just Cash Flow PLC | A registered charge | — | 20/05/2015 | 22/06/2016 |
Recent filings (34 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-04
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-02-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-01-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-23