J S DUNLOP LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
NI043104 · ltd · incorporated 2002-05-01
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 May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of commercial buildings
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 41202Construction of domestic buildings
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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: medium (76/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1500 | 1200 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 signals 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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-05-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-28📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2017-02-28📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2016-06-01➕DUNLOP, Mary Elizabeth appointedsecretary
- 2016-06-01➖DUNLOP, John Scott resignedsecretary
- 2002-05-01🏢Company incorporatedAs J S DUNLOP LIMITED
- 2002-05-01➕DUNLOP, Wallace appointeddirector
- 2002-05-01➕DUNLOP, John Scott appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DUNLOP" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Mary Elizabeth Dunlop Individual · British · DOB 08/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/06/2016 |
Mr Wallace Dunlop Individual · British · DOB 06/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTILITY WORX LTD→ NI676783 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| VALOR HOMES LTD→ NI053053 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| VERAM LIMITED→ NI636177 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| VICTOR GORDON & SON LIMITED→ NI045555 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| VICTORIA MECHANICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ NI069111 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| VIEW2BUILD LIMITED→ NI648885 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| VIEWPOINT (HILLSBOROUGH) LIMITED→ NI642847 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| W.&C. GLAZING CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ NI014301 · est 1980 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 45y | — | — |
| WATSON CIVILS LTD→ NI660961 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| WATSON DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ NI628887 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| WE BUILD HOME FOR U LTD→ NI715959 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| WEFIND RECRUITMENT LTD→ NI679280 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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.
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
Incorporated2002-05-01
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC41201 — Construction of commercial buildings
Registered office
48a Kirk Road
Ballymoney
Co. Antrim
BT53 8HB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-15
Last: 2026-05-01
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
DUNLOP, Mary Elizabeth→
Activesecretary · appointed 2016-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DUNLOP, Wallace→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2002-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DUNLOP, John Scott→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-05-01 · resigned 2016-06-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (60 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-26