ABBEY ACORN DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04525614 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-04
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 68100Buying and selling of own real estate
- 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). 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
1 live charge · oldest 16.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 16.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · 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, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
63 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £105.3k |
| Current assets | — | £18.4k |
| Net assets | — | £105.3k |
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 (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-07📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-11-07🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2022-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-03📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-02-10📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2015-02-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-03-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
- 2008-09-03➖GRAYSON, Anna Elizabeth resignedsecretary
- 2002-09-04🏢Company incorporatedAs ABBEY ACORN DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
- 2002-09-04➕GRAYSON, David appointeddirector
- 2002-09-04➕GRAYSON, Anna Elizabeth appointedsecretary
- 2002-09-04➕YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-09-04➖YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-09-04➕YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-09-04➖YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 58 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Grayson Individual · British · DOB 07/1968 · age 58 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 04/09/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 SEVENTEEN DESIGN LTD→ 16866459 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| ABBAS (AS) LTD→ 15684198 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABEKSGOLD LIMITED→ 16276126 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACM MEDIA LIMITED→ 15580015 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACORN BATHROOMS AND PLUMBING LTD→ 11217825 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-09-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Registered office
31 Grange Close
Romanby
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL7 8XD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-14
Last: 2025-08-31
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
GRAYSON, David→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2002-09-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GRAYSON, Anna Elizabeth→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2008-09-03
YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2002-09-04
YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2002-09-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC | Mortgage | 2 properties | 17/03/2010 | 07/11/2022 |
Recent filings (63 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-28
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-03