ULTRA-SOFT LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC149178 · ltd · incorporated 1994-02-21
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£-14.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 82). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
76 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
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £14,486

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£14k
↑ 2.6% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↑ 39% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£15k-£12k-£8k-£5k-£2k£2kMar 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£-14.5k£-14.9k
Current assets£1.7k£1.2k
Net assets£-14.5k£-14.9k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-02-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-02-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-02-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2000-01-22
    ➕
    MUIRHEAD, James appointed
    secretary
  17. 2000-01-22
    ➖
    FRASER, John Dempster resigned
    secretary
  18. 1994-02-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ULTRA-SOFT LIMITED
  19. 1994-02-21
    ➕
    HOWELLS, Kenneth appointed
    director
  20. 1994-02-21
    ➕
    MUIRHEAD, James appointed
    director
  21. 1994-02-21
    ➕
    FRASER, John Dempster appointed
    secretary
  22. 1994-02-21
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1994-02-21
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1994-02-21
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 1994-02-21
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 82 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 82 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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 James Muirhead
Individual · British · DOB 05/1958 · age 68
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Kenneth Howells
Individual · British · DOB 01/1944 · age 82
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1994-02-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

49 Powdermill Brae
Gorebridge
Midlothian
EH23 4HX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-07
Last: 2026-02-21

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

MUIRHEAD, James→
secretary · appointed 2000-01-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOWELLS, Kenneth→
director · ~82y · appointed 1994-02-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MUIRHEAD, James→
director · ~68y · appointed 1994-02-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FRASER, John Dempster→
secretary · appointed 1994-02-21 · resigned 2000-01-22
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-02-21 · resigned 1994-02-21
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-02-21 · resigned 1994-02-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (76 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-03-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-06