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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£-22.3k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

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 24.9y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 24.9 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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

96 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2025-11-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-11-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-11-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-11-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-01-05
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-06-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-01-06
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-06-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-01-08
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2012-06-30
➖
KINLOCH, Ann resigned
director
2001-08-20
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2001-01-10
➕
KINLOCH, Ann appointed
director
2000-12-24
➖
MILLER, Ian resigned
director
1998-04-16
➕
URQUHART, Nicholas John appointed
secretary
1998-04-16
➕
URQUHART, Nicholas John appointed
director
1998-04-03
➖
MCLEAN, Scott resigned
secretary
1998-04-03
➖
MCLEAN, Scott resigned
director
1995-03-01
➕
MCLEAN, Scott appointed
secretary
1995-03-01
➕
MCLEAN, Scott appointed
director
1995-02-28
➖
URQUHART, Nicholas John resigned
secretary
1994-09-02
➖
URQUHART, Nicholas John resigned
director
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 42 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Nicholas John Urquhart Individual · British · DOB 07/1962 · age 64	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	30/12/2016

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

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PPP SERVICES (NORTH AYRSHIRE) HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC294861 · est 2005	£4.61M £3.46M–£5.76M	—	—	0	20y	87	60y
GLASGOW HEALTHCARE FACILITIES (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC290718 · est 2005	£4.00M £3.00M–£5.00M	—	—	0	20y	84	63y
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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

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Bond & floating charge	1 property	20/08/2001	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.