IAN HAY (ENGINEERING) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC128121 · ltd · incorporated 1990-10-25
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£110.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
70/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28490
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 70/100 (strong), bankability 77/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 35.4y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 35.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
22 officers (1 active, 22 linked, 14 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
138 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
70/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
69
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £110,000

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£110k
Current Assets
£127k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-31
Total assets£127.0k
Current assets£127.0k
Net assets£110.0k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
4
filings
  • • 4 officers
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 4 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (70 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-16
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-03-16
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2026-02-06
    ➕
    MAY, JR., John Alan appointed
    director
  4. 2026-02-06
    ➖
    STEVENSON, Colin James resigned
    director
  5. 2026-02-04
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2026-02-04
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2026-01-31
    ➖
    LEBLANC JR, Witland James resigned
    director
  8. 2026-01-31
    ➕
    STEVENSON, Colin James appointed
    director
  9. 2025-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2024-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-10-20
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  12. 2023-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2023-08-11
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2023-08-11
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2023-08-10
    ➖
    GANDY, Mark resigned
    director
  16. 2023-08-10
    ➕
    LEBLANC JR, Witland James appointed
    director
  17. 2022-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2022-07-12
    ➖
    COOPER, Gregory resigned
    secretary
  19. 2022-07-12
    ➖
    COOPER, Gregory resigned
    director
  20. 2022-07-12
    ➕
    GANDY, Mark appointed
    director
  21. 2022-07-12
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  22. 2022-07-12
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  23. 2022-07-12
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  24. 2022-02-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  25. 2022-02-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  26. 2021-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  27. 2020-05-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  28. 2018-02-16
    ➖
    MILLAR, Keith Ian resigned
    director
  29. 2018-02-08
    ➕
    COOPER, Gregory appointed
    secretary
  30. 2018-02-08
    ➖
    MILLAR, Keith Ian resigned
    secretary
  31. 2018-02-08
    ➕
    COOPER, Gregory appointed
    director
  32. 2017-07-31
    ➖
    DUNDEE, Mark resigned
    director
  33. 2015-05-31
    ➖
    KIRK, Ian Alastair resigned
    director
  34. 2015-05-31
    ➖
    NIXON, James Ure resigned
    director
  35. 2015-04-07
    ➕
    DUNDEE, Mark appointed
    director
  36. 2015-04-07
    ➕
    MILLAR, Keith Ian appointed
    director
  37. 2013-01-28
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  38. 2010-04-05
    ➖
    BARRON, William resigned
    director
  39. 2009-01-09
    ➖
    PISCH, Frank Michael resigned
    director
  40. 2008-10-10
    ➖
    CLARK, Alistair Bertram resigned
    secretary
  41. 2008-10-10
    ➕
    MILLAR, Keith Ian appointed
    secretary
  42. 2008-10-10
    ➖
    CLARK, Alistair Bertram resigned
    director
  43. 2008-04-04
    ➕
    NIXON, James Ure appointed
    director
  44. 2008-04-04
    ➕
    PISCH, Frank Michael appointed
    director
  45. 2008-04-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  46. 2008-04-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  47. 2008-04-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  48. 2008-04-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  49. 2008-04-03
    ➕
    CLARK, Alistair Bertram appointed
    secretary
  50. 2008-04-03
    ➖
    ABERDEIN CONSIDINE & CO resigned
    corporate-secretary
Showing most recent 50 of 70 events

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

2 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: LEBLANC JR, Witland James resigned 2026-01-31; STEVENSON, Colin James resigned 2026-02-06

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Group structure

Downhole Products Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Downhole Products Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
IAN HAY (ENGINEERING) LIMITED
This company · SC128121

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Downhole Products Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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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
Incorporated1990-10-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC28490 — SIC 28490

Registered office

C/O Brodies Llp Capital Square
58 Morrison Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8BP
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-08
Last: 2025-10-25

Officers (1 active · 21 resigned)

MAY, JR., John Alan→
director · ~40y · appointed 2026-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CLARK, Alistair Bertram→
secretary · appointed 2008-04-03 · resigned 2008-10-10
Resigned
COOPER, Gregory→
secretary · appointed 2018-02-08 · resigned 2022-07-12
Resigned
MILLAR, Keith Ian→
secretary · appointed 2008-10-10 · resigned 2018-02-08
Resigned
NOBBS, Harold Richard→
secretary · appointed 1990-10-25 · resigned 1994-10-25
Resigned
ABERDEIN CONSIDINE & CO→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-10-03 · resigned 2008-04-03
Resigned
ARCHBOLD ACCOUNTANCY→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1994-11-10 · resigned 2002-10-03
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1990-10-25 · resigned 1990-10-25
Resigned
BARRON, William→
director · ~72y · appointed 2001-11-01 · resigned 2010-04-05
Resigned
CLARK, Alistair Bertram→
director · ~79y · appointed 2001-11-01 · resigned 2008-10-10
Resigned
COOPER, Gregory→
director · ~51y · appointed 2018-02-08 · resigned 2022-07-12
Resigned
DUNDEE, Mark→
director · ~49y · appointed 2015-04-07 · resigned 2017-07-31
Resigned
GANDY, Mark→
director · ~55y · appointed 2022-07-12 · resigned 2023-08-10
Resigned
HAY, Audrey Thyra→
director · ~59y · appointed 1990-10-25 · resigned 1997-05-31
Resigned
HAY, Ian→
director · ~72y · appointed 1991-02-21 · resigned 2008-04-03
Resigned
KIRK, Ian Alastair→
director · ~72y · appointed 2001-11-01 · resigned 2015-05-31
Resigned
LEBLANC JR, Witland James→
director · ~56y · appointed 2023-08-10 · resigned 2026-01-31
Resigned
MILLAR, Keith Ian→
director · ~64y · appointed 2015-04-07 · resigned 2018-02-16
Resigned
NIXON, James Ure→
director · ~70y · appointed 2008-04-04 · resigned 2015-05-31
Resigned
PISCH, Frank Michael→
director · ~64y · appointed 2008-04-04 · resigned 2009-01-09
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property04/04/200828/01/2013
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property18/05/200004/04/2008
satisfied
Kellock
Kellock Limited
Bond & floating charge1 property22/07/199704/04/2008
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property18/12/199004/04/2008

Recent filings (138 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-03-16
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-16
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-02-04
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-08
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-03
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-08-11
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-08