ACORN SCIENTIFIC MARKETING LTD

💤Zombieactive
14581880 · ltd · incorporated 2023-01-10
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
£3.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Advertising agencies
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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 (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
8 filings
60
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red 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 £3,240

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£5k
Net Worth
£3k
Current Assets
£5k
Current Liabilities
£0£1k£2k£3k£4k£5kJan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2026-01-312025-01-31
Total assets£3.2k
Current assets£5.4k
Cash£5.1k
Debtors£323
Net assets£3.2k
Average employees100

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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (7 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN SCIENTIFIC MARKETING LTD
  6. 2023-01-10
    GAUNT, Nicholas Philip, Dr appointed
    director
  7. 2023-01-10
    📄
    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

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
Dr Nicholas Philip Gaunt
Individual · English · DOB 04/1992 · age 34
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control10/01/2023

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

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · FY postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ARMAH CONSULTANTS LIMITED
12248501 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
6y
ASHWORTH TREASURE (BOC) LIMITED
04572532 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
23y
ASPIRATIONAL SOCIAL CARE CONSULTANCY (ASCC) LTD
14742707 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
3y
ASSAM SERVICES LTD
10637773 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
9y
AVVISUAL LTD
15923959 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
AZ ENERGY LTD
10189401 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
9y
AZOLLA BIOFUELS LIMITED
13852662 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
4y
BAILEY CONSULTING SOLUTIONS LTD
16884123 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
BARCADIA BUSINESS SERVICES LTD
12396657 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
6y
BARCLAY WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS LTD
17056237 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
BARRETT NELLIGAN SOLICITORS LTD
07483776 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
15y
BCM PROJECTS LTD
16986771 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
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
Incorporated2023-01-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC73110 — Advertising agencies

Registered office

21 Grenville Avenue
Lytham St. Annes
FY8 2RR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-23
Last: 2026-01-09

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

GAUNT, Nicholas Philip, Dr
director · ~34y · appointed 2023-01-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (8 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-09
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2023-01-10