ACON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC277386 · ltd · incorporated 2004-12-14
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.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£29.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -34% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 5.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 5.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
50 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £28,962
Cash YoY
-34%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£67k
↓ 34% YoY
Net Worth
£29k
↑ 361% YoY
Current Assets
£433k
↓ 22% YoY
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 | £48.3k | £44.2k |
| Current assets | £432.6k | £553.3k |
| Cash | £66.5k | £101.0k |
| Debtors | £334.1k | £420.3k |
| Net assets | £29.0k | £6.3k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-04📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-11-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of Scoltand PLC
- 2020-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-12-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2007-08-16➕MORRISON, Audrey appointedsecretary
- 2007-08-16➖PEPPER, Spencer resignedsecretary
- 2007-08-16➖PEPPER, Spencer resigneddirector
- 2004-12-14🏢Company incorporatedAs ACON LIMITED
- 2004-12-14➕RITCHIE, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2004-12-14➕SOMMERVILLE, Richard George appointeddirector
- 2004-12-14➕PEPPER, Spencer appointedsecretary
- 2004-12-14➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-12-14➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-12-14➕PEPPER, Spencer appointeddirector
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
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 62. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Ritchie Individual · British · DOB 02/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Richard George Sommerville Individual · British · DOB 04/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.T.L.S SERVICES LTD→ SC858573 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| ALPINE IMPROVEMENTS LTD→ SC877798 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ANDREW JAMES WINDOWS & CONSERVATORIES LIMITED→ SC479676 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ANDY THOM PLUMBING & HEATING LIMITED→ SC599729 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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| BALFERN HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC530605 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BELL LAWRIE OF BIGGAR (DEVELOPMENTS) LIMITED→ SC099927 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| BIOMONT ENERGY LIMITED→ SC557741 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BLADUM ROUGHCASTERS LTD→ SC840498 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BORDER CIVILS & UTILITIES LTD→ SC451995 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2004-12-14
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Registered office
Cove Farm, Cove Estate
Kirkpatrick Fleming
Lockerbie
DG11 3AT
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-28
Last: 2025-12-14
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
Active
RITCHIE, Andrew→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2004-12-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SOMMERVILLE, Richard George→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2004-12-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PEPPER, Spencer→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-12-14 · resigned 2007-08-16
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-12-14 · resigned 2004-12-14
PEPPER, Spencer→
Resigneddirector · ~64y · appointed 2004-12-14 · resigned 2007-08-16
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Bank of Scoltand Bank of Scoltand PLC | A registered charge | — | 17/11/2020 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (50 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-31
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-19