ALCHEMIST SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
11464023 · ltd · incorporated 2018-07-13
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
66/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 66/100 (strong), bankability 55/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (53/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 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
20 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
66/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
50
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Average employees100100

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-04-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-03-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2021-12-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2021-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-10-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2020-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-09-25
    STRACHAN, Alistair appointed
    director
  10. 2018-09-25
    STRACHAN, Alistair resigned
    director
  11. 2018-09-25
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2018-09-25
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2018-07-18
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2018-07-18
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2018-07-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALCHEMIST SERVICES LTD
  16. 2018-07-13
    STRACHAN, Alistair appointed
    director
  17. 2018-07-13
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-04-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alistair Strachan
Individual · British · DOB 07/1967 · age 59
75100%
75-100% shares13/07/2018

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Trade services · CH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
A B R CONTRACTING SERVICES LTD
16806870 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
ABSOLUTE FITNESS NW LTD
10267001 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
9y
AC DAVLEN LIMITED
05921721 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
19y
AGE CONNECTS NORTH EAST WALES
06655221 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
17y
AION DESIGN LTD
11569368 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
7y
ALEXANDRA BROOKER AESTHETICS LTD
10502517 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
9y
ALI NICE HAIR CUT LTD
14367276 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
3y
ALIEN INTELLIGENCE LTD
15691537 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
ALISON HASTINGS MEDIA LIMITED
05613872 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
20y
ALJ DC LIMITED
16172791 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
1y
ALL 4114 ALL LTD
15956368 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
ALL AMERICAN LIMITED
11509086 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
7y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated2018-07-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Ground Floor Vista Building
St David's Park
Ewloe
Deeside
CH5 3DT
Wales

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-13
Last: 2025-07-30

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

STRACHAN, Alistair
director · ~61y · appointed 2018-09-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STRACHAN, Alistair
director · ~59y · appointed 2018-07-13 · resigned 2018-09-25
Resigned

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

Recent filings (20 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-05
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-01
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-19