ACE LACE LTD

💤Zombieactive
14719713 · ltd · incorporated 2023-03-09
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£-130.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 73). 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 (71/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
11 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
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
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £130,506

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£21k
Net Worth
-£131k
Current Assets
£36k
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-30
Total assets£-130.5k
Current assets£35.9k
Cash£21.3k
Debtors£14.6k
Net assets£-130.5k

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 (11 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-01
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-03-04
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2024-07-23
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2024-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-07-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2024-06-04
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2023-03-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACE LACE LTD
  9. 2023-03-09
    LACE, Pamela appointed
    secretary
  10. 2023-03-09
    LACE, Alan Roy appointed
    director
  11. 2023-03-09
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LACE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alan Roy Lace
Individual · British · DOB 05/1953 · age 73
5075%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control09/03/2023
Pamela Lace
Individual · British · DOB 08/1959 · age 67
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting09/03/2023

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

9 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2023-03-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

512 Darwen Road
Bromley Cross
Bolton
BL7 9DX
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-01
Last: 2025-11-17

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

LACE, Pamela
secretary · appointed 2023-03-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LACE, Alan Roy
director · ~73y · appointed 2023-03-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (11 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2025-05-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-04
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-07-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-07-22
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-06-04
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2023-03-09