ACE SIGNPRINT LTD

💤Zombieactive
13189796 · ltd · incorporated 2021-02-09
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
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Turnover
year to Feb 2025
Net worth
£136.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
60/100
Worth a look
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What this business does

Likely a sign design and print manufacturing business based in Newcastle, producing printed signage and visual communication materials for commercial or retail clients, given the company name and its registration under SIC 18129 (other printing not elsewhere classified).

Primary activity: SIC 18129
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed manufacturing with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 60/100 (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: high (80/100)

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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
21 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
60/100Worth 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
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
59
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £136,023
Net assets shrinking
Down £57,331 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£136k
↓ 30% YoY
Current Assets
£323k
↑ 74% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£65k£129k£194k£258k£323kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-02-282024-02-28
Total assets£335.7k£220.4k
Current assets£322.8k£185.5k
Net assets£136.0k£193.4k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  2. 2025-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-13
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  4. 2024-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-02-10
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  6. 2024-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-01-30
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2023-05-05
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  9. 2023-05-02
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  10. 2023-02-09
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  11. 2023-02-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2023-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2023-01-10
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  14. 2022-08-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2022-05-17
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  16. 2022-05-03
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  17. 2021-02-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACE SIGNPRINT LTD
  18. 2021-02-09
    GIESS, Shane Matthew appointed
    director
  19. 2021-02-09
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

80/100
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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

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 · 1 med ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

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

Evidence: Next due: 2026-02-22

Name changed recently
medium

Name changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.

Evidence: 2024-12-13: certificate-change-of-name-company

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Shane Matthew Giess
Individual · British · DOB 08/1995 · age 31
75100%
75-100% shares09/02/2021

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
Incorporated2021-02-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC18129 — SIC 18129

Registered office

Roebuck Centre, Unit 2/3/9 Newcastle Under Lyne
High Street
Newcastle
ST5 1SW
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-02-22OVERDUE
Last: 2025-02-08

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

GIESS, Shane Matthew
director · ~31y · appointed 2021-02-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (21 total)

gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2026-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-12
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2024-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-08
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-01-30
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-05-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-04
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-05-02
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-02-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-08