ACME LEGAL LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
10790335 · ltd · incorporated 2017-05-25
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 May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (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 (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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 3 | 200 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-20➖HAYES, Helen resigneddirector
- 2026-05-20📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-18📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-03-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-03-18📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-06-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-06-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-05-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-05-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-07-01➕HAYES, Chris appointeddirector
- 2022-07-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-07-09➖HAYES, Christopher Charles Edward resigneddirector
- 2017-05-25🏢Company incorporatedAs ACME LEGAL LIMITED
- 2017-05-25➕HAYES, Christopher Charles Edward appointeddirector
- 2017-05-25➕HAYES, Helen appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chris Hayes Individual · British · DOB 05/1966 · age 60 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 04/03/2025 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Helen Hayesceased 04/03/2025· significant influence
- Mr Christopher Charles Edward Hayesceased 09/05/2022· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · PO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A L ENGINEERING WORKS LTD→ 11793896 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AJ REYNOLDS CONSULTING LTD→ 13017933 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AJG ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 12281660 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AJL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14754781 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AJP CONSULTING LTD→ 14114949 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AKE SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14774418 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AL & EASTWEST CONSULTING LTD→ 11342942 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ALAN SULLIVAN CONSULTANCY SERVICES (ASCS) LTD→ 12026722 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALESVI ADVISORS LIMITED→ 15417811 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALEVA LTD→ 14778681 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALEX MORTIBOYS WORKS LIMITED→ 15636564 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER VAUGHAN LIMITED→ 07727945 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-05-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
ACME LEGAL LIMITED
Critchfield Cottage Viking Way Bosham
Chichester
West Sussex
PO18 8HN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-07
Last: 2026-05-24
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
HAYES, Chris→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2022-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HAYES, Christopher Charles Edward→
Resigneddirector · ~60y · appointed 2017-05-25 · resigned 2018-07-09
HAYES, Helen→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2017-05-25 · resigned 2026-05-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-04
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-05
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-03-18
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-05-09