ACORN HOLDCO 2 LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
10947572 · ltd · incorporated 2017-09-05
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of other holding companies n.e.c.
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 74). 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: high (81/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 8 total, 8 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
44 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Average employees2200

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
4
filings
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-01-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2026-01-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2026-01-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2025-11-19
    ➖
    FRIAR, David resigned
    director
  6. 2025-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-05-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  9. 2023-05-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2023-05-01
    ➕
    GROARKE, Michael Dominic appointed
    director
  11. 2023-04-30
    ➖
    MCLEAN, Peter Colin resigned
    director
  12. 2023-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-09-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2020-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-11-25
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  18. 2019-11-25
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  19. 2019-11-25
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  20. 2019-11-25
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  21. 2019-10-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  22. 2019-09-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  23. 2018-04-27
    ➕
    FRIAR, David appointed
    director
  24. 2018-04-27
    ➖
    GROARKE, Joshua Michael Patrick resigned
    director
  25. 2018-04-27
    ➕
    MCLEAN, Peter Colin appointed
    director
  26. 2017-09-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN HOLDCO 2 LIMITED
  27. 2017-09-05
    ➕
    GROARKE, Joshua Michael Patrick appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 74 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Michael Groarke
Individual · British · DOB 07/1952 · age 74
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting05/08/2019
7 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Peter Colin Mcleanceased 19/11/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr Matthew Paul Mcleanceased 13/09/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest
  • Mr Andrew Peter Mcleanceased 13/09/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest
  • Mrs Margaret Mary Groarkeceased 05/10/2018· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr Alan John Priceceased 30/01/2018· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest
  • Mr Alan John Priceceased 13/09/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest
  • Mr Joshua Michael Patrick Groarkeceased 30/04/2018· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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 →

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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
Incorporated2017-09-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64209 — Activities of other holding companies n.e.c.

Registered office

C/O Does Liverpool Cic The Tapestry
68-76 Kempston Street
Liverpool
L3 8HL
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-18
Last: 2025-09-04

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

GROARKE, Michael Dominic→
director · ~74y · appointed 2023-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FRIAR, David→
director · ~73y · appointed 2018-04-27 · resigned 2025-11-19
Resigned
GROARKE, Joshua Michael Patrick→
director · ~43y · appointed 2017-09-05 · resigned 2018-04-27
Resigned
MCLEAN, Peter Colin→
director · ~70y · appointed 2018-04-27 · resigned 2023-04-30
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (44 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-01-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-05
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-05-02
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-07