DIRECT COOLING & HEATING SERVICES LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC176081 · ltd · incorporated 1997-06-03
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 35300
Sector: Electricity, gas & energy
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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: 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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
87 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-08-12
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2025-08-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-02-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-08-16
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  7. 2023-08-15
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2023-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-07-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2018-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-06-27
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2017-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2011-07-31
    ➖
    SIMPSON, Barry Paul resigned
    secretary
  18. 2009-08-29
    ➖
    CARRUTHERS, Catherine resigned
    secretary
  19. 2009-08-29
    ➕
    SIMPSON, Barry Paul appointed
    secretary
  20. 1997-06-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DIRECT COOLING & HEATING SERVICES LTD.
  21. 1997-06-03
    ➕
    CARRUTHERS, Andrew appointed
    director
  22. 1997-06-03
    ➕
    CARRUTHERS, Catherine appointed
    secretary
  23. 1997-06-03
    ➕
    REID, Brian appointed
    nominee-secretary
  24. 1997-06-03
    ➖
    REID, Brian resigned
    nominee-secretary
  25. 1997-06-03
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
    nominee-director
  26. 1997-06-03
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
    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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — 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 60. 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 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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 Andrew Carruthers
Individual · British · DOB 03/1966 · age 60
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Andrew Carruthers
Individual · British · DOB 07/1997 · age 29
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting01/08/2025

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

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
BRAIDENHILL FARM WIND LIMITED→
SC313706 · est 2006
———20019y8359y
DIVERSE INVESTMENTS SCOTLAND LTD→
SC311596 · est 2006
——£3.15M—19y8362y
KARIS TECHNICAL SERVICES LTD.→
SC350406 · est 2008
——£65.9k—17y8262y
RICHARDSON OILS UNLIMITED→
SC238121 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
————23y8161y
ALBEC METAL COMPANY LIMITED→
SC211104 · est 2000
————25y8065y
AQUA PROJECTS LIMITED→
SC234073 · est 2002
——£27.5k—23y8065y
AUCHNOTROCH WIND ENERGY LTD.→
SC430889 · est 2012
——£961.9k—13y8062y
AUTORECYCLING LIMITED→
SC360646 · est 2009
——£79.5k—16y8063y
BARR ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED→
SC162876 · est 1996 · no financials extracted
————30y8065y
ENVIROSAN LIMITED→
SC179932 · est 1997
——£553.4k—28y8062y
GREENBANK TURBINES LTD→
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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
Incorporated1997-06-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC35300 — SIC 35300

Registered office

24a Russell Street
Hamilton
Lanarkshire
ML3 0QP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-12
Last: 2025-05-29

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

CARRUTHERS, Andrew→
director · ~60y · appointed 1997-06-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CARRUTHERS, Catherine→
secretary · appointed 1997-06-03 · resigned 2009-08-29
Resigned
REID, Brian→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-06-03 · resigned 1997-06-03
Resigned
SIMPSON, Barry Paul→
secretary · appointed 2009-08-29 · resigned 2011-07-31
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen→
nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1997-06-03 · resigned 1997-06-03
Resigned

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

Recent filings (87 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-08-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-07
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-08-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-15
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-20