ACE BUILDING CONSULTANTS LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC319088 · ltd · incorporated 2007-03-21
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
£-73
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (68/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
54 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £73

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£73
Current Assets
£0
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-31
Total assets£-73
Current assets£0
Net assets£-73

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-03
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AAMD
  3. 2024-12-31
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2024-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-12-30
    ➖
    GIBLIN, Josephine resigned
    secretary
  6. 2024-06-15
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  7. 2024-06-04
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2023-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-04-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-03-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2007-06-07
    ➕
    MCGINLEY, Patrick appointed
    director
  19. 2007-06-07
    ➖
    GIBLIN, Dennis resigned
    director
  20. 2007-03-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACE BUILDING CONSULTANTS LTD
  21. 2007-03-21
    ➕
    GIBLIN, Josephine appointed
    secretary
  22. 2007-03-21
    ➕
    DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2007-03-21
    ➖
    DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2007-03-21
    ➕
    GIBLIN, Dennis appointed
    director
  25. 2007-03-21
    ➕
    DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2007-03-21
    ➖
    DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED resigned
    corporate-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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

83/100
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 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Patrick Joseph Mcginley
Individual · British · DOB 03/1963 · age 63
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 →
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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
Incorporated2007-03-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71122 — Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities

Registered office

3 Glenmoss Ave
Erskine
Renfrewshire
PA8 6HN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-03-30OVERDUE
Last: 2025-03-16

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

MCGINLEY, Patrick→
director · ~63y · appointed 2007-06-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GIBLIN, Josephine→
secretary · appointed 2007-03-21 · resigned 2024-12-30
Resigned
DUPORT SECRETARY LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-03-21 · resigned 2007-03-21
Resigned
GIBLIN, Dennis→
director · ~76y · appointed 2007-03-21 · resigned 2007-06-07
Resigned
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-03-21 · resigned 2007-03-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-21
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2025-02-03
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-12
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-10