ACE DRILLING SERVICES LIMITED
🏛️Establishedactive
10868086 · ltd · incorporated 2017-07-17
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£27.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of roads and motorways
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
19 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
75
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 · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £27,560
Cash YoY
+1238200%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£111k
↑ 1238200% YoY
Net Worth
£28k
↑ 2110% YoY
Current Assets
£269k
↓ 22% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £339.9k | £640.7k |
| Current assets | £269.3k | £343.1k |
| Cash | £111.4k | £9 |
| Debtors | £157.8k | £343.1k |
| Net assets | £27.6k | £1.2k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (14 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-15📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-17🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE DRILLING SERVICES LIMITED
- 2017-07-17➕SMALLWOOD, Kate appointeddirector
- 2017-07-17➕SMALLWOOD, Stuart appointeddirector
- 2017-07-17📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
79/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Kate Smallwood Individual · British · DOB 02/1969 · age 57 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 02/06/2021 |
Mr Stuart Smallwood Individual · British · DOB 08/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 17/07/2017 |
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 · Construction · WF postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & J ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ 06542207 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A H PLUMBING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16826783 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A J CONSTRUCTION (YORKSHIRE) LIMITED→ 05981180 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| A J FIRTH LIMITED→ 16574721 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A J STRUCTURAL STEELS LIMITED→ 04612933 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A.HOLLINS LTD→ 12813523 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACE PLUMBERS LIMITED→ 09946945 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADAMS ELECTRICAL & PROPERTY LTD→ 16995537 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADC ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS LTD→ 05860054 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ADI COMMUNICATIONS (YORKSHIRE) LIMITED→ 07323621 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ADM BRICKWORKS LTD→ 16648084 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADM JOINERY LTD→ 11977234 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2017-07-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC42110 — Construction of roads and motorways
Registered office
5 Charles View
Hall Green
Wakefield
WF4 3QH
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-30
Last: 2025-07-16
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
SMALLWOOD, Kate→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2017-07-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMALLWOOD, Stuart→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2017-07-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (19 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-11-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-04-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-01-18
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2020-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-02-25