BRYDENS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC202661 · ltd · incorporated 1999-12-21
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
£309.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 26.0y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 26.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · 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
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £309,169
Cash YoY
+33%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£49k
↑ 33% YoY
Net Worth
£309k
↑ 5.6% YoY
Current Assets
£49k
↑ 25% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £309.2k | £292.8k |
| Current assets | £49.3k | £39.5k |
| Cash | £49.3k | £37.0k |
| Debtors | — | £2.6k |
| Net assets | £309.2k | £292.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2008-01-10🔒Charge registered #3Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2007-12-27🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2006-12-01➕CRAIG, Carole Anne appointedsecretary
- 2006-12-01➖HAXTON, Nichola resignedsecretary
- 2003-10-29➕HAXTON, Nichola appointedsecretary
- 2003-10-28➖SHAW, Evelyn Agnes resignedsecretary
- 2003-10-28➖SHAW, Evelyn Agnes resigneddirector
- 2003-03-25➕SHAW, Evelyn Agnes appointeddirector
- 2001-12-03➖WELSH, Douglas Moncur resigneddirector
- 2000-05-02➕WELSH, Douglas Moncur appointeddirector
- 2000-05-02🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1999-12-21🏢Company incorporatedAs BRYDENS LIMITED
- 1999-12-21➕CRAIG, Raymond Bryden appointeddirector
- 1999-12-21➕SHAW, Evelyn Agnes appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 26 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 candidateStrong 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 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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
cleanNo 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 Raymond Bryden Craig Individual · Scottish · DOB 05/1966 · age 60 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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Active · Professional services · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTHERN ESTATES SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC463776 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| NORTON PROJECTS LTD→ SC771725 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| OCCAM BIOSCIENCES LIMITED→ SC707668 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| OGILVIE ADVISORY LTD→ SC540042 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| OPERATIONAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC644399 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| P & G FINANCE LTD→ SC722298 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PAR LAW LIMITED→ SC838676 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| PARAGON INSPECTION LIMITED→ SC423888 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| PARKER BAY CAPITAL LIMITED→ SC856556 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PARSE ACCOUNTING LTD→ SC802002 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| PAUL W JOHNSON CONSULTANCY LTD.→ SC307107 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| PAUL YOUNG SERVICES LTD→ SC865043 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1999-12-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74909 — Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Registered office
2 West Bay
Gourdon
Montrose
Angus
DD10 0NA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-04
Last: 2025-12-21
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
CRAIG, Carole Anne→
Activesecretary · appointed 2006-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CRAIG, Raymond Bryden→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 1999-12-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HAXTON, Nichola→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-10-29 · resigned 2006-12-01
SHAW, Evelyn Agnes→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-12-21 · resigned 2003-10-28
SHAW, Evelyn Agnes→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 2003-03-25 · resigned 2003-10-28
WELSH, Douglas Moncur→
Resigneddirector · ~78y · appointed 2000-05-02 · resigned 2001-12-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 10/01/2008 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 27/12/2007 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 02/05/2000 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (68 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-30