ACE DRIVER SAFETY LIMITED
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 (79/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £84.4k | £117.1k |
| Current assets | £101.8k | £134.3k |
| Cash | £91.8k | £95.6k |
| Debtors | £9.9k | £38.7k |
| Net assets | £55.4k | £77.7k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
Corporate timeline (10 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-14📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2021-01-05📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2019-09-21🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE DRIVER SAFETY LIMITED
- 2019-09-21➕HOPCROFT, Wendy Ann appointeddirector
- 2019-09-21📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 7 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Wendy Ann Hopcroft Individual · British · DOB 03/1968 · age 58 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 21/09/2019 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
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