A.C.S. INDUSTRIES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01579286 · ltd · incorporated 1981-08-11
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 26110
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 72). 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

6 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 44.6y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 44.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
103 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Average employees500600

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-03-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-04-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-02-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2016-01-28
    📄
    capital-cancellation-shares
    capital · SH06
  14. 2016-01-28
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  15. 2016-01-22
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  16. 2015-12-11
    ➖
    HEBDEN, Michael George resigned
    secretary
  17. 2015-12-11
    ➖
    HEBDEN, Michael George resigned
    director
  18. 2015-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #6
  19. 2015-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  20. 2015-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  21. 2015-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  22. 2015-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  23. 1996-11-11
    ➖
    HAY, Jonathan Charles resigned
    director
  24. 1993-01-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Close Brothers Limited
  25. 1990-11-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  26. 1985-03-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  27. 1984-11-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Huffwood Trading Co Limited
  28. 1983-10-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  29. 1981-09-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  30. 1981-08-11
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.C.S. INDUSTRIES LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 45 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Gavin Barclay
Individual · British · DOB 11/1954 · age 72
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated1981-08-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC26110 — SIC 26110

Registered office

Huffwood Trading Estate
Brookers Road
Billinghurst
West Sussex
RH14 9UR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-14
Last: 2026-01-31

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

BARCLAY, Gavin→
director · ~72y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEBDEN, Michael George→
secretary · resigned 2015-12-11
Resigned
HAY, Jonathan Charles→
director · ~71y · resigned 1996-11-11
Resigned
HEBDEN, Michael George→
director · ~76y · resigned 2015-12-11
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

6
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Close Brothers
Close Brothers Limited
Credit agreement1 property19/01/199317/11/2015
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Corporate mortgage1 property23/11/199017/11/2015
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property06/03/198517/11/2015
outstanding
Huffwood Trading Co
Huffwood Trading Co Limited
Legal charge1 property08/11/1984—
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property10/10/198317/11/2015
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Corporate mortgage1 property01/09/198117/11/2015
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (103 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-22