BUCHAN CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC147794 · ltd · incorporated 1993-12-01
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.
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
£76.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 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

2 live charges · oldest 26.5y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 26.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
83 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £76,369

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£76k
Current Assets
£112k
Current Liabilities
—
£0£22k£45k£67k£90k£112kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£117.2k—
Current assets£112.4k—
Net assets£76.4k—
Average employees—500

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-27
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  4. 2023-12-14
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-03-31
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  10. 2019-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-04-03
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2018-04-03
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  14. 2017-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2000-03-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  17. 1999-12-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 1996-10-01
    ➖
    BUCHAN, Ashley Christine resigned
    director
  19. 1993-12-10
    ➕
    BUCHAN, Ashley Christine appointed
    secretary
  20. 1993-12-10
    ➕
    BUCHAN, William Summers appointed
    director
  21. 1993-12-10
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1993-12-10
    ➕
    BUCHAN, Ashley Christine appointed
    director
  23. 1993-12-10
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 1993-12-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BUCHAN CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED
  25. 1993-12-01
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1993-12-01
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BUCHAN" — 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 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr William Summers Buchan
Individual · British · DOB 01/1967 · age 59
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting31/03/2020
Mrs Ashley Buchan
Individual · British · DOB 01/1962 · age 64
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting01/04/2018
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr William Summers Buchanceased 31/03/2018· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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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TARIFFCOM LIMITED→
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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
Incorporated1993-12-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities

Registered office

6 Kirktonhill Holdings
Marykirk
Laurencekirk
Kincardineshire
AB30 1UT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-13
Last: 2025-11-29

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

BUCHAN, Ashley Christine→
secretary · appointed 1993-12-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUCHAN, William Summers→
director · ~59y · appointed 1993-12-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-12-01 · resigned 1993-12-10
Resigned
BUCHAN, Ashley Christine→
director · ~64y · appointed 1993-12-10 · resigned 1996-10-01
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-12-01 · resigned 1993-12-10
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property09/03/2000—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property03/12/1999—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (83 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-29
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-12-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2020-03-31