ACORN CONSULTANTS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC119978 · ltd · incorporated 1989-09-06
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No material changes in the last 90 days.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.76M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 85-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 85). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
11 officers (3 active, 11 linked, 7 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
100 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
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
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,757,443
Cash YoY
+33%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£1.2m
↑ 33% YoY
Net Worth
£1.8m
↑ 6.6% YoY
Current Assets
£1.2m
↑ 6.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£351k£703k£1.1m£1.4m£1.8mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£1.79M£1.68M
Current assets£1.20M£1.13M
Cash£1.19M£894.1k
Debtors£12.5k£232.6k
Net assets£1.76M£1.65M

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-08-04
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-06-30
    ➕
    STEVENSON, David Deas appointed
    director
  4. 2024-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-01-29
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2024-01-27
    ➖
    STEVENSON, Margaret Telfer resigned
    director
  7. 2023-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-11-29
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2018-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-12-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2012-07-25
    ➕
    HILDITCH, John appointed
    secretary
  19. 2012-07-25
    ➖
    NEEDHAM, Douglas Wilson resigned
    secretary
  20. 2004-03-31
    ➖
    LALL, Vikram resigned
    director
  21. 1999-07-12
    ➖
    FERRIE, David Francis resigned
    secretary
  22. 1999-07-12
    ➕
    NEEDHAM, Douglas Wilson appointed
    secretary
  23. 1996-12-16
    ➕
    LALL, Vikram appointed
    director
  24. 1996-05-31
    ➖
    AINSLIE, James Thomas Heard resigned
    secretary
  25. 1996-05-31
    ➕
    FERRIE, David Francis appointed
    secretary
  26. 1996-05-31
    ➖
    AINSLIE, James Thomas Heard resigned
    director
  27. 1995-10-30
    ➖
    STEVENSON, James Neil resigned
    director
  28. 1995-10-24
    ➕
    AINSLIE, James Thomas Heard appointed
    director
  29. 1995-10-24
    ➕
    STEVENSON, Margaret Telfer appointed
    director
  30. 1992-03-06
    ➕
    STEVENSON, Louie Alexander appointed
    director
  31. 1992-03-06
    ➖
    STEVENSON, David Deas resigned
    director
  32. 1989-09-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACORN CONSULTANTS LIMITED
  33. 1989-09-06
    ➕
    AINSLIE, James Thomas Heard appointed
    secretary
  34. 1989-09-06
    ➕
    STEVENSON, David Deas appointed
    director
  35. 1989-09-06
    ➕
    STEVENSON, James Neil appointed
    director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 85 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 85 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Deas Stevenson
Individual · British · DOB 11/1941 · age 85
25–50%
—25-50% shares01/07/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr James Neil Stevensonceased 12/11/2018· 25-50% shares

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

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated1989-09-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

Ashley Bank House
Langholm
Dumfriesshire
DG13 0AN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-26
Last: 2025-11-12

Officers (3 active · 8 resigned)

HILDITCH, John→
secretary · appointed 2012-07-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STEVENSON, David Deas→
director · ~85y · appointed 2025-06-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STEVENSON, Louie Alexander→
director · ~84y · appointed 1992-03-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
AINSLIE, James Thomas Heard→
secretary · appointed 1989-09-06 · resigned 1996-05-31
Resigned
FERRIE, David Francis→
secretary · appointed 1996-05-31 · resigned 1999-07-12
Resigned
NEEDHAM, Douglas Wilson→
secretary · appointed 1999-07-12 · resigned 2012-07-25
Resigned
AINSLIE, James Thomas Heard→
director · ~90y · appointed 1995-10-24 · resigned 1996-05-31
Resigned
LALL, Vikram→
director · ~80y · appointed 1996-12-16 · resigned 2004-03-31
Resigned
STEVENSON, David Deas→
director · ~85y · appointed 1989-09-06 · resigned 1992-03-06
Resigned
STEVENSON, James Neil→
director · ~81y · appointed 1989-09-06 · resigned 1995-10-30
Resigned
STEVENSON, Margaret Telfer→
director · ~78y · appointed 1995-10-24 · resigned 2024-01-27
Resigned

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

Recent filings (100 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-15
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-16