ORKNEY SUSTAINABLE ENERGY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC160432 · ltd · incorporated 1995-09-19

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 Feb 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

12 officers (2 active, 12 linked, 6 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

7 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

97 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

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

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-02-28	2024-02-29
Average employees	3	400

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (38 events)Click to expand

2025-11-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-13
📄
appoint-corporate-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP04
2020-01-13
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2019-10-16
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-04-01
➕
BLACKADDERS LLP appointed
corporate-secretary
2019-03-31
➖
PLENDERLEATH RUNCIE LLP resigned
corporate-secretary
2018-12-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-01-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-10-01
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2008-02-01
➕
PLENDERLEATH RUNCIE LLP appointed
corporate-secretary
2008-02-01
➖
PLENDERLEATH RUNCIE LLP resigned
corporate-secretary
2006-02-27
➖
CLUBLEY, Philip Bevan resigned
director
2006-01-16
➖
TWIDELL, John William resigned
director
1999-10-11
➖
CLUBLEY, Philip Bevan resigned
secretary
1999-07-09
➖
BURTON, Anthony Levesley resigned
director
1999-07-09
➖
HEDDLE, Ian resigned
director
1999-02-06
➖
BESSON, Ian Alexander resigned
director
1998-02-01
➕
PLENDERLEATH RUNCIE LLP appointed
corporate-secretary
1996-04-09
➕
BESSON, Ian Alexander appointed
director
1996-04-09
➕
BURTON, Anthony Levesley appointed
director
1996-04-09
➕
HEDDLE, Ian appointed
director
1996-04-09
➕
TWIDELL, John William appointed
director
1995-11-10
➕
GAULD, Richard appointed
director
1995-10-17
➕
CLUBLEY, Philip Bevan appointed
secretary
1995-10-17
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1995-10-17
➕
CLUBLEY, Philip Bevan appointed
director
1995-10-17
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1995-09-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As ORKNEY SUSTAINABLE ENERGY LIMITED
1995-09-19
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1995-09-19
➕
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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

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 66. 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 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Richard Gauld Individual · British · DOB 03/1960 · age 66	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · KW postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A.J.B. SCHOLES LIMITED→ SC341021 · est 2008	—	—	—	40	18y	83	63y
AQUATERA LIMITED→ SC206441 · est 2000	—	—	—	3300	26y	83	65y
HATSTON VETERINARY CENTRE LIMITED→ SC340215 · est 2008	—	—	—	2200	18y	83	62y
ORCADIA→ SC272848 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	83	61y
REID & FRASER LTD.→ SC194713 · est 1999	—	—	£367.3k	—	27y	83	59y
BRAEMARA LIMITED→ SC202577 · est 1999	—	—	£786.7k	—	26y	82	81y
HERNE SERVICES LTD→ SC812200 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
MILLR LIMITED→ SC459335 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
NPS NORTH LTD→ SC830130 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ORKNEY BUSINESS RING - LABOUR AGENCY LIMITED→ SC306037 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
RESEARCH RELAY LIMITED→ SC279287 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
REWILDERNESS LTD.→ SC785088 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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

Incorporated1995-09-19

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC72190 — Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Registered office

Ajb Scholes Ltd

8 Albert Street

Kirkwall

Orkney

KW15 1HP

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-11-30

Last made up to: 2025-02-28

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-03

Last: 2025-09-19

Officers (2 active · 10 resigned)

BLACKADDERS LLP→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2019-04-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

GAULD, Richard→

director · ~66y · appointed 1995-11-10

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CLUBLEY, Philip Bevan→

secretary · appointed 1995-10-17 · resigned 1999-10-11

Resigned

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-09-19 · resigned 1995-10-17

Resigned

PLENDERLEATH RUNCIE LLP→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-02-01 · resigned 2019-03-31

Resigned

PLENDERLEATH RUNCIE LLP→

corporate-secretary · appointed 1998-02-01 · resigned 2008-02-01

Resigned

BESSON, Ian Alexander→

director · ~63y · appointed 1996-04-09 · resigned 1999-02-06

Resigned

BURTON, Anthony Levesley→

director · ~79y · appointed 1996-04-09 · resigned 1999-07-09

Resigned

CLUBLEY, Philip Bevan→

director · ~76y · appointed 1995-10-17 · resigned 2006-02-27

Resigned

HEDDLE, Ian→

director · ~80y · appointed 1996-04-09 · resigned 1999-07-09

Resigned

TWIDELL, John William→

director · ~87y · appointed 1996-04-09 · resigned 2006-01-16

Resigned

JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-09-19 · resigned 1995-10-17

Resigned

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