PRIMARC ENGINEERING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC152098 · ltd · incorporated 1994-07-22

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 Aug 2024

Net worth

£14.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 25990

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -75% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 31.1y

30/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 31.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· 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

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

88 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 · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £14,909

Net assets shrinking

Down £12,238 YoY

Cash draining

Cash down 75% YoY

Cash YoY

-75%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£4k

↓ 75% YoY

Net Worth

£15k

↓ 45% YoY

Current Assets

£24k

↓ 25% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-08-31	2023-08-31
Total assets	£14.9k	£27.1k
Current assets	£24.1k	£32.0k
Cash	£4.2k	£17.0k
Debtors	£16.5k	£13.6k
Net assets	£14.9k	£27.1k

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 (33 events)Click to expand

2025-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-09-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-08
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-09-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2014-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2007-08-13
➕
FERGUSON, Claire appointed
secretary
2007-08-13
➖
FERGUSON, Lilian Margaret resigned
secretary
2004-02-19
➕
FERGUSON, Lilian Margaret appointed
secretary
2004-02-19
➖
PRATT, Linda Jane resigned
secretary
1998-09-28
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
1998-08-12
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
1998-03-03
➕
PRATT, Linda Jane appointed
secretary
1998-03-03
➖
PETERKINS, SOLICITORS resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-10-24
➖
DONALD, Gary Glennie resigned
director
1995-04-03
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
1994-08-12
➕
FERGUSON, Neil Douglas appointed
director
1994-08-12
➕
DONALD, Gary Glennie appointed
director
1994-08-12
➖
HUNTER, Neil Cameron resigned
nominee-director
1994-08-12
➖
RENNIE, Thomas George resigned
nominee-director
1994-07-22
🏢
Company incorporated
As PRIMARC ENGINEERING LIMITED
1994-07-22
➕
PETERKINS, SOLICITORS appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1994-07-22
➕
HUNTER, Neil Cameron appointed
nominee-director
1994-07-22
➕
RENNIE, Thomas George appointed
nominee-director

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 32 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 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

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Neil Ferguson Individual · British · DOB 09/1962 · age 64	50–75%	—	50-75% shares	01/06/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · AB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
GRAY & ADAMS LIMITED→ SC047482 · est 1970	£75.13M £58.44M–£91.83M	—	—	502	56y	87	71y
GRAY & ADAMS GROUP LIMITED→ SC230241 · est 2002	£53.82M £41.86M–£65.78M	—	—	0	24y	85	71y
GRAY & ADAMS (DUNFERMLINE) LIMITED→ SC082971 · est 1983	£17.07M £13.28M–£20.87M	—	—	106	43y	85	71y
GRAY & ADAMS (DONCASTER) LIMITED→ SC128013 · est 1990	£16.62M £12.93M–£20.32M	—	—	101	35y	87	71y
INTERWELL LIMITED→ SC391140 · est 2011	£10.98M £8.54M–£13.42M	£33.44M	—	7800	15y	91	60y
EBLAST LIMITED→ SC202165 · est 1999	£8.03M £6.24M–£9.81M	£11.11M	—	7400	26y	88	57y
ROTECH SUBSEA LIMITED→ SC451221 · est 2013	£6.41M £4.99M–£7.83M	£17.20M	—	4800	12y	84	58y
DALES ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC107948 · est 1987	£6.22M £4.84M–£7.60M	£21.87M	—	11000	38y	93	70y
SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED→ SC259694 · est 2003	£6.15M £4.78M–£7.51M	£1.45M	—	1500	22y	94	60y
IMENCO UK LIMITED→ SC372021 · est 2010	£5.97M £4.64M–£7.29M	£17.33M	—	11500	16y	95	71y
VECTOR SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC103810 · est 1987	£1.63M £1.27M–£1.99M	—	—	16	39y	85	71y
EXCEED TORRIDON LIMITED→ SC508840 · est 2015	—	—	—	54	10y	84	65y

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

Incorporated1994-07-22

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990

Registered office

Unit 4

Home Farm Industrial Estate

Ellon

Aberdeenshire

AB41 8PA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-05-31

Last made up to: 2024-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-05

Last: 2025-07-22

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

FERGUSON, Claire→

secretary · appointed 2007-08-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FERGUSON, Neil Douglas→

director · ~64y · appointed 1994-08-12

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FERGUSON, Lilian Margaret→

secretary · appointed 2004-02-19 · resigned 2007-08-13

Resigned

PRATT, Linda Jane→

secretary · appointed 1998-03-03 · resigned 2004-02-19

Resigned

PETERKINS, SOLICITORS→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-07-22 · resigned 1998-03-03

Resigned

DONALD, Gary Glennie→

director · ~64y · appointed 1994-08-12 · resigned 1996-10-24

Resigned

HUNTER, Neil Cameron→

nominee-director · ~69y · appointed 1994-07-22 · resigned 1994-08-12

Resigned

RENNIE, Thomas George→

nominee-director · ~79y · appointed 1994-07-22 · resigned 1994-08-12

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Floating charge	1 property	12/08/1998	—
	satisfied	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Floating charge	1 property	03/04/1995	28/09/1998

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