FORTH ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC155061 · ltd · incorporated 1994-12-21
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 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 71129Other engineering activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 31.2y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 31.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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, 2 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
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
89 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
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
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£55k£110k£165k£220k£275kDec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Total assets£245.2k
Current assets£275.0k
Cash£199.3k
Debtors£60.7k
Net assets£245.2k
Average employees3

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
3
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 address
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 address
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2026-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-12-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-10-30
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  5. 2025-10-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Ifs - Smaller Loans LP (LP023364) Acting by Its General Partner Dsl Ifs Smaller Loans Gp LTD (SC781857)
  6. 2025-10-22
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  7. 2025-10-22
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2025-10-22
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2025-10-22
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2025-10-22
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  11. 2025-10-22
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2025-10-14
    MCCONDICHIE, Tony Robert appointed
    director
  13. 2025-10-14
    TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas resigned
    secretary
  14. 2025-10-14
    CLELAND, John resigned
    director
  15. 2025-10-14
    TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas resigned
    director
  16. 2025-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2024-07-03
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  18. 2024-07-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  19. 2024-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2023-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2022-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2021-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2021-04-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  24. 2020-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  25. 1995-02-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  26. 1994-12-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FORTH ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED
  27. 1994-12-21
    TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas appointed
    secretary
  28. 1994-12-21
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 1994-12-21
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1994-12-21
    CLELAND, John appointed
    director
  31. 1994-12-21
    TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas appointed
    director
  32. 1994-12-21
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  33. 1994-12-21
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  34. 1994-12-21
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  35. 1994-12-21
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

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

1 med ·
3 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

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

Evidence: TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas resigned 2025-10-14; CLELAND, John resigned 2025-10-14; TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas resigned 2025-10-14

Group structure

Mccondichie (Holdings) Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Mccondichie (Holdings) Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
FORTH ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED
This company · SC155061

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
Mccondichie (Holdings) Ltd
Corporate entity
75100%
75-100% shares14/10/2025
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Robert James Thomas Torranceceased 14/10/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
  • Mr John Clelandceased 14/10/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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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SC620611 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
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SC714887 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
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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
Incorporated1994-12-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade

Registered office

Unit 8 West Shore Business Road
15 Long Craig Rigg
Edinburgh
EH5 1QT
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-21
Last: 2026-04-07

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

MCCONDICHIE, Tony Robert
director · ~39y · appointed 2025-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas
secretary · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 2025-10-14
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 1994-12-21
Resigned
CLELAND, John
director · ~67y · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 2025-10-14
Resigned
TORRANCE, Robert James Thomas
director · ~69y · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 2025-10-14
Resigned
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 1994-12-21
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 1994-12-21
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Ifs - Smaller Loans LP (LP023364) Acting by Its General Partner Dsl Ifs Smaller Loans Gp (SC781857)
Ifs - Smaller Loans LP (LP023364) Acting by Its General Partner Dsl Ifs Smaller Loans Gp LTD (SC781857)
A registered charge30/10/2025
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property23/02/199503/07/2024
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (89 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-06
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-12-02
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-10-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2025-10-22
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-10-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-22
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-10-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-10-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-14
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-11