ACE BUILDERS LTD
🌳Matureactive
SC372371 · ltd · incorporated 2010-02-04
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
£647.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other building and industrial cleaning activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 1.6y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Newest facility, 1.6 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
40 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £647,751
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£648k
↑ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£109k
↑ 5.5% 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 | £848.9k | £576.3k |
| Current assets | £109.2k | £103.4k |
| Net assets | £647.8k | £560.5k |
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
2
filings
- • 1 mortgage
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 mortgage
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-13📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2026-02-06🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland
- 2025-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-01📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-09-30🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-02-22📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2020-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2010-02-04🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE BUILDERS LTD
- 2010-02-04➕BOWES, David Andrew, Mr. appointeddirector
- 2010-02-04➕COUSINS, Barry Christopher, Mr. appointeddirector
Owner dependency
73/100
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 Andrew Bowes Individual · British · DOB 05/1982 · age 44 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · trust interest · firm interest | 10/03/2021 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A SNEDDON COURIER & LOGISTICS LTD→ SC880031 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABC. AMBULANCE SERVICES (UK) LTD.→ SC555212 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALBION MOBILITY LIMITED→ SC366032 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AMBER BLUE EAST CENTRAL LIMITED→ SC404406 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ANGUS EVENTS LTD→ SC559466 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| APB LANDSCAPING (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC712322 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AQUAFORCE LIMITED→ SC715665 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AQUATEC WATER TREATMENT LIMITED→ SC226565 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ARMOUR SECURITY LTD→ SC597357 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENTLY LTD→ SC697786 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ASH SALON LTD.→ SC759979 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ASHDALE BUILDING WORKS LTD→ SC461954 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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.
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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.
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See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2010-02-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC81229 — Other building and industrial cleaning activities
Registered office
73 Menstrie Road
Tullibody
Alloa
FK10 2RF
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-18
Last: 2026-02-04
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
BOWES, David Andrew, Mr.→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2010-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COUSINS, Barry Christopher, Mr.→
Activedirector · ~41y · appointed 2010-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland | A registered charge | 1 property | 06/02/2026 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 2 properties | 30/09/2024 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (40 total)
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-02-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-07
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-22
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2021-02-22