ACORN BOTS LTD

💤Zombieactive
11566049 · ltd · incorporated 2018-09-12
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
64/100
Worth a look
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
25 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees1100

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
2
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 dissolution
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 dissolution
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    gazette-notice-voluntary
    gazette · GAZ1(A)
  2. 2026-05-14
    📄
    dissolution-application-strike-off-company
    dissolution · DS01
  3. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-04-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2024-04-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2024-04-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2023-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-03-01
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  11. 2022-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-08-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2021-08-30
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  14. 2021-08-26
    HERBERT, Colin David resigned
    director
  15. 2021-08-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2021-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-07-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-09-23
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2018-09-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN BOTS LTD
  20. 2018-09-12
    FOSTER-CLARKE, James appointed
    director
  21. 2018-09-12
    HERBERT, Colin David appointed
    director
  22. 2018-09-12
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material 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 signal

Some 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
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2025-12-11

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Foster-Clarke
Individual · British · DOB 07/1969 · age 57
2550%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control12/09/2018
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Colin David Herbertceased 26/08/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2018-09-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

Cherry Tree Farm The Common
Metfield
Harleston
IP20 0LP
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2025-12-11OVERDUE
Last: 2024-11-27

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

FOSTER-CLARKE, James
director · ~57y · appointed 2018-09-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HERBERT, Colin David
director · ~71y · appointed 2018-09-12 · resigned 2021-08-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (25 total)

gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-05-26
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-18
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-04-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-04-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-24
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21