ACOVA LIMITED
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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).
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (11 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-29📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2023-11-28📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-01📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-02-22📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2020-12-04🏢Company incorporatedAs ACOVA LIMITED
- 2020-12-04➕GILLIES, Iain appointeddirector
- 2020-12-04📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanGroup structure
Macdonald Hotels Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Macdonald Hotels Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 04/12/2020 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Retail · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACOOLAUDIO LTD→ SC814831 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AD PARAGON LTD→ SC659268 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AIMAN ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ SC829925 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AK STAYS LTD→ SC775815 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AKRAYLETO LTD→ SC666343 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AL NOOR ONLINE RETAIL LTD→ SC876394 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALL TOGETHER EDINBURGH→ SC377787 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ALL-IN-ONE ABODE LIMITED→ SC797934 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALLSTARFENCING (US) LIMITED→ SC358877 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ALNIL LTD→ SC876872 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALPHA ARMOUR LIMITED→ SC832813 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALPINE SERVICNG LTD→ SC814008 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.