DIP 'N' STRIP (EDINBURGH) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC091001 · ltd · incorporated 1984-12-18
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
£-22.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 24.7y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 24.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
96 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £22,264

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£22k
↑ 24% YoY
Current Assets
£344
↓ 47% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£29k-£23k-£17k-£11k-£5k£650Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£-22.3k£-29.2k
Current assets£344£650
Net assets£-22.3k£-29.2k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-01-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-06-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-01-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-06-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-01-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-06-30
    ➖
    KINLOCH, Ann resigned
    director
  17. 2001-08-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  18. 2001-01-10
    ➕
    KINLOCH, Ann appointed
    director
  19. 2000-12-24
    ➖
    MILLER, Ian resigned
    director
  20. 1998-04-16
    ➕
    URQUHART, Nicholas John appointed
    secretary
  21. 1998-04-16
    ➕
    URQUHART, Nicholas John appointed
    director
  22. 1998-04-03
    ➖
    MCLEAN, Scott resigned
    secretary
  23. 1998-04-03
    ➖
    MCLEAN, Scott resigned
    director
  24. 1995-03-01
    ➕
    MCLEAN, Scott appointed
    secretary
  25. 1995-03-01
    ➕
    MCLEAN, Scott appointed
    director
  26. 1995-02-28
    ➖
    URQUHART, Nicholas John resigned
    secretary
  27. 1994-09-02
    ➖
    URQUHART, Nicholas John resigned
    director
  28. 1984-12-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DIP 'N' STRIP (EDINBURGH) LIMITED

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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 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.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 41 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

clean
No 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Nicholas John Urquhart
Individual · British · DOB 07/1962 · age 64
75–100%
—75-100% shares30/12/2016

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

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
Incorporated1984-12-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Unit 12
Russell Road Industrial Estate
Sauchiebank
Edinburgh
EH11 2NN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-14
Last: 2025-12-31

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

URQUHART, Nicholas John→
secretary · appointed 1998-04-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
URQUHART, Nicholas John→
director · ~64y · appointed 1998-04-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCLEAN, Scott→
secretary · appointed 1995-03-01 · resigned 1998-04-03
Resigned
URQUHART, Nicholas John→
secretary · resigned 1995-02-28
Resigned
KINLOCH, Ann→
director · ~75y · appointed 2001-01-10 · resigned 2012-06-30
Resigned
MCLEAN, Scott→
director · ~60y · appointed 1995-03-01 · resigned 1998-04-03
Resigned
MILLER, Ian→
director · ~93y · resigned 2000-12-24
Resigned
URQUHART, Nicholas John→
director · ~64y · resigned 1994-09-02
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property20/08/2001—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (96 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-08