ACORN NEWS LTD
💤Zombieactive
11519356 · ltd · incorporated 2018-08-15
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£-70.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
64/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 47620SIC 47620
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 64/100 (worth a look), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
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, 2 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 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
30 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
64/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
55
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £70,266
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£70k
↓ 627% YoY
Current Assets
£164k
↑ 205% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-17.6k | £37.0k |
| Current assets | £164.3k | £53.8k |
| Cash | — | £2.3k |
| Debtors | — | £2.9k |
| Net assets | £-70.3k | £-9.7k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-22➖ASIF, Shazia resigneddirector
- 2025-10-22📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-10-22📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-10-22📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-10-22📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-10-20➕CHAUDHRY, Hamza appointeddirector
- 2025-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-30📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-06-30📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-06-30📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-06-30📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-06-01➕ASIF, Shazia appointeddirector
- 2023-06-01➖KHURANA, Taranjeet Kaur resigneddirector
- 2023-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-26📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-07-26📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-27📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2021-07-01➖KHURANA, Jaktar Singh resigneddirector
- 2021-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-27➕KHURANA, Jaktar Singh appointeddirector
- 2018-08-15🏢Company incorporatedAs ACORN NEWS LTD
- 2018-08-15➕KHURANA, Taranjeet Kaur appointeddirector
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
1 high ·Confirmation statement overdue
highAnnual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.
Evidence: Next due: 2026-05-26
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Hamza Chaudhry Individual · Pakistani · DOB 08/1998 · age 28 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 22/10/2025 |
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Shazia Asifceased 22/10/2025· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Mr Jaktar Singh Khuranaceased 01/07/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Mrs Taranjeet Kaur Khuranaceased 01/06/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · OX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10SHOP LTD→ 16566820 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1HYDE LTD→ 14499961 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 2001 PRODUCTS LTD→ 13987321 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 3 FLAVOURS SEAFOOD LTD→ 15785572 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 360 DIGITAL MEDIA LTD→ 16388835 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4WARD SHOP LIMITED→ 14554585 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AARONAAHRYA LIMITED→ 15899991 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACE TACKLE & BAIT LIMITED→ 10354989 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACHET TRADING LTD→ 16424570 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACKERMAN & NIECE LIMITED→ 04392991 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ACORN INTERNET LTD→ 05485473 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACQUA COIR LIMITED→ 11693859 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2018-08-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Registered office
49 St. Nicholas Road
Oxford
OX4 4PN
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-26OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-12
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
CHAUDHRY, Hamza→
Activedirector · ~28y · appointed 2025-10-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASIF, Shazia→
Resigneddirector · ~43y · appointed 2023-06-01 · resigned 2025-10-22
KHURANA, Jaktar Singh→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2018-11-27 · resigned 2021-07-01
KHURANA, Taranjeet Kaur→
Resigneddirector · ~46y · appointed 2018-08-15 · resigned 2023-06-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-10-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-10-22
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-10-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-06-30
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-06-30
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-06-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-26