SMITH DESIGN SOLUTIONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC146050 · ltd · incorporated 1993-08-23
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£1.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other information technology service activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (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, 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
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
88 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,584
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,831 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£2k
↓ 81% YoY
Current Assets
£32k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£13k£19k£25k£32kAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£8.1k£7.3k
Current assets£31.5k£27.4k
Net assets£1.6k£8.4k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2023-03-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-12-10
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2021-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-09-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  12. 2019-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-01-01
    ➕
    SMITH, Janice appointed
    director
  14. 2018-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-05-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2017-10-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2017-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2005-12-22
    ➖
    STEVENSON, Gordon resigned
    director
  19. 2001-06-01
    ➕
    STEVENSON, Gordon appointed
    director
  20. 1999-10-31
    ➖
    SMITH, Mary resigned
    director
  21. 1995-07-01
    ➕
    SMITH, Andrew appointed
    secretary
  22. 1995-07-01
    ➖
    SMITH, Mary resigned
    secretary
  23. 1995-07-01
    ➕
    SMITH, Mary appointed
    director
  24. 1993-09-13
    ➕
    SMITH, Gordon William appointed
    director
  25. 1993-09-13
    ➕
    SMITH, Mary appointed
    secretary
  26. 1993-09-13
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 1993-09-13
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 1993-08-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As SMITH DESIGN SOLUTIONS LIMITED
  29. 1993-08-23
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1993-08-23
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

99/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SMITH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Gordon William Smith
Individual · British · DOB 12/1970 · age 56
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

6 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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1993-08-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62090 — Other information technology service activities

Registered office

6 Sneddon Avenue
Wishaw
ML2 8DX
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-06
Last: 2025-08-23

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

SMITH, Andrew→
secretary · appointed 1995-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Gordon William→
director · ~56y · appointed 1993-09-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Janice→
director · ~58y · appointed 2019-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Mary→
secretary · appointed 1993-09-13 · resigned 1995-07-01
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-08-23 · resigned 1993-09-13
Resigned
SMITH, Mary→
director · ~67y · appointed 1995-07-01 · resigned 1999-10-31
Resigned
STEVENSON, Gordon→
director · ~57y · appointed 2001-06-01 · resigned 2005-12-22
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-08-23 · resigned 1993-09-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (88 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-29
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-13