ACF CLEANING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC227534 · ltd · incorporated 2002-01-30
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£699.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 18.1y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £699,517
Cash YoY
+41%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£193k
↑ 41% YoY
Net Worth
£700k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£1.1m
↓ 1.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£221k£442k£664k£885k£1.1mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£1.34M£1.17M
Current assets£1.09M£1.11M
Cash£193.1k£137.1k
Debtors£642.5k£867.0k
Net assets£699.5k£622.0k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 mortgage
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 mortgage
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 mortgage
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-06
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  2. 2026-04-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
  3. 2025-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-11-08
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  6. 2023-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-11-29
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  9. 2022-11-29
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  10. 2022-11-24
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  11. 2022-08-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2021-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-10-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2021-10-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2021-10-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2021-10-12
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  17. 2021-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-09-06
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  19. 2019-08-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Funding Circle Limited
  20. 2019-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  21. 2012-01-31
    ➖
    FORBES, Morag resigned
    secretary
  22. 2008-04-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  23. 2002-01-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACF CLEANING LIMITED
  24. 2002-01-30
    ➕
    FORBES, Andrew Craig appointed
    director
  25. 2002-01-30
    ➕
    FORBES, Morag appointed
    secretary
  26. 2002-01-30
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  27. 2002-01-30
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2002-01-30
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director
  29. 2002-01-30
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • 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 Andrew Craig Forbes
Individual · British · DOB 03/1967 · age 59
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control30/06/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Morag Forbesceased 23/11/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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

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————18y8365y
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——£3.88M—29y8360y
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——£192.2k—19y8359y
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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
Incorporated2002-01-30
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Unit 5 Commercial Centre
Stirling Enterprise Park
Stirling
FK7 7BF
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-08
Last: 2025-11-24

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

FORBES, Andrew Craig→
director · ~59y · appointed 2002-01-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORBES, Morag→
secretary · appointed 2002-01-30 · resigned 2012-01-31
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-01-30 · resigned 2002-01-30
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2002-01-30 · resigned 2002-01-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
NatWest Group
Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
A registered charge—17/04/2026—
satisfied
Funding Circle
Funding Circle Limited
A registered charge—23/08/201929/11/2022
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property17/04/2008—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (68 total)

mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-06
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2023-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-06-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-24
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-11-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-15