ACORN WASTE TECH SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
10603233 · ltd · incorporated 2017-02-06
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Feb 2025
Net worth
£67.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 38110
Sector: Water supply & waste
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 38210SIC 38210
- 38320SIC 38320
- 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 72/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 4 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
24 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £67,384
Net assets shrinking
Down £9,399 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£67k
↓ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£41k
↓ 26% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £67.4k | £76.8k |
| Current assets | £40.8k | £54.9k |
| Net assets | £67.4k | £76.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-11-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-11-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-02-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-06📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2020-02-05➖JOHNSON, Elizabeth Diana resignedsecretary
- 2019-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-06🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN WASTE TECH SERVICES LTD
- 2017-02-06➕CARUS, James Lee appointeddirector
- 2017-02-06➕JOHNSON, Elizabeth Diana appointedsecretary
- 2017-02-06📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
45/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Lee Carus Individual · British · DOB 07/1985 · age 41 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/02/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMBS RECYCLE LTD→ 16051226 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CLAUSCARSALEANDRECOVERY LIMITED→ 16184351 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CRYSTALAIR LIMITED→ 02620721 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
| D & S DRAINAGE LIMITED→ 08557110 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| D&A AIR CONDITIONING LTD→ 07809910 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| DOVES HYGIENE SERVICES LTD→ 06127042 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| DRAGON HYDRO LTD→ 06488301 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| DRAINMAR LIMITED→ 04949981 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| DRAINS R US (EASTERN) LIMITED→ 04641177 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| E-95 LIMITED→ 15480759 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| EARTHLY GOODS LTD.→ 05443994 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| EAST ENERGY LIMITED→ 11286855 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-02-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC38110 — SIC 38110
Registered office
Office 7, Riverside Business Centre
Crossbank Road
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 2HD
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-19
Last: 2026-02-05
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
CARUS, James Lee→
Activedirector · ~41y · appointed 2017-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JOHNSON, Elizabeth Diana→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2017-02-06 · resigned 2020-02-05
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (24 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-11-14
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-02-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-01