ACE AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC254183 · ltd · incorporated 2003-08-13
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
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
£391.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 52230
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 20.0y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 20.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
59 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 £391,062
Cash YoY
+55%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£119k
↑ 55% YoY
Net Worth
£391k
↑ 10.0% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£78k£156k£235k£313k£391kDec 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
Cash£118.5k£76.5k
Net assets£391.1k£355.6k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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 (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-08-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2018-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-02-07
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  11. 2017-10-18
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  12. 2017-10-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2017-10-13
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2017-10-13
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  15. 2017-10-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  16. 2017-09-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2008-05-14
    ➕
    STRONACHS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  19. 2008-05-14
    ➖
    STRONACHS resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2006-07-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  21. 2003-09-03
    ➕
    COBBAN, Terence Robert appointed
    director
  22. 2003-09-03
    ➖
    NEILSON, Ewan Craig resigned
    nominee-director
  23. 2003-08-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACE AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED
  24. 2003-08-13
    ➕
    STRONACHS appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-08-13
    ➕
    NEILSON, Ewan Craig appointed
    nominee-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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Terence Robert Cobban
Individual · British · DOB 04/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Transport & logistics · AB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
MCPHERSON LIMITED→
SC218508 · est 2001
£12.40M
£9.30M–£15.49M
——45725y8471y
DOUGLAS F MITCHELL LIMITED→
SC226015 · est 2001
£455.2k
£341.4k–£569.0k
——1124y8282y
TRANSPAN (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
SC124530 · est 1990
£52.0k
£39.0k–£65.0k
——7136y8358y
ALP (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
SC261031 · est 2003
——£246.4k—22y8361y
CALEY COLD STORE LIMITED→
SC270634 · est 2004
——£3.28M—21y8373y
ENLIM (SCOTLAND) LTD.→
SC248672 · est 2003
———50023y8362y
SHETLAND LINE 1984 LIMITED→
SC088013 · est 1984
———042y8374y
W & H LESLIE (ABERDEEN) LIMITED→
SC281256 · est 2005
——£2.57M—21y8365y
A & W WILSON LIMITED→
SC287072 · est 2005
——£431.9k—21y8267y
A.I.C. TRANSPORT LTD.→
SC204281 · est 2000
——£1.40M—26y8266y
ABERDEEN TAXI METERS LIMITED→
SC327897 · est 2007
———20019y8267y
BUTLERS SHIP STORES LIMITED→
SC125674 · est 1990
———336y8279y
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
Incorporated2003-08-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC52230 — SIC 52230

Registered office

28 Albyn Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1YL
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-27
Last: 2025-08-13

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

STRONACHS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-05-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COBBAN, Terence Robert→
director · ~64y · appointed 2003-09-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STRONACHS→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-08-13 · resigned 2008-05-14
Resigned
NEILSON, Ewan Craig→
nominee-director · ~68y · appointed 2003-08-13 · resigned 2003-09-03
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
A registered charge—11/10/2017—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property26/07/200613/10/2017
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (59 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-08-13