FOUR LEGS AND FINE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC203016 · ltd · incorporated 2000-01-17

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jan 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 (76/100)

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

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

68 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	2025-01-31	2024-01-31

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2025-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2017-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-11-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-02-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2015-02-12
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2014-02-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2011-01-16
➖
DEAN, Alan Thomas resigned
director
2008-02-12
➕
DEAN, Alan Thomas appointed
director
2008-02-12
➖
SIEFFERT, Sylvia Maria resigned
director
2000-01-17
🏢
Company incorporated
As FOUR LEGS AND FINE LIMITED
2000-01-17
➕
LANG, Mary-Ellen Elizabeth appointed
secretary
2000-01-17
➕
LANG, Mary-Ellen Elizabeth appointed
director
2000-01-17
➕
ASHCROFT CAMERON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2000-01-17
➖
ASHCROFT CAMERON SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2000-01-17
➕
SIEFFERT, Sylvia Maria appointed
director
2000-01-17
➕
ASHCROFT CAMERON NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2000-01-17
➖
ASHCROFT CAMERON NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
corporate-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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — 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 59. 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

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
Ms Mary-Ellen Elizabeth Lang Individual · British · DOB 04/1967 · age 59	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	17/01/2017

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
LOTHIAN ELECTRIC MACHINES LIMITED→ SC036737 · est 1961	£12.66M £9.85M–£15.47M	£48.58M	—	17600	64y	88	56y
HALSPAN LIMITED→ SC194458 · est 1999	£11.95M £9.30M–£14.61M	—	—	31	27y	88	77y
HAD-FAB LIMITED→ SC142257 · est 1993	£1.76M £1.37M–£2.15M	—	—	14400	33y	85	60y
SPRING ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC220378 · est 2001	£1.49M £1.16M–£1.83M	—	—	3800	25y	87	74y
WINDOW SUPPLY COMPANY LTD→ SC615256 · est 2018	£699.9k £544.4k–£855.4k	—	—	182	7y	84	72y
EUROSTAMPA UK LTD→ SC024552 · est 1946	£218.8k £170.2k–£267.5k	—	—	200	79y	85	83y
ARRAYJET LIMITED→ SC209936 · est 2000	—	—	—	25	25y	83	73y
BAWBAGS LIMITED→ SC321771 · est 2007	—	—	—	6	19y	83	65y
CANMORE PIPE BAGS LIMITED→ SC362533 · est 2009	—	—	£53.5k	—	16y	83	58y
CASTLE MASONRY PRODUCTS LIMITED→ SC225802 · est 2001	—	—	—	18	24y	83	62y
CLOCKHOUSE FURNITURE LIMITED→ SC281686 · est 2005	—	—	£778.1k	—	21y	83	75y
DESIGN LED PRODUCTS LIMITED→ SC258229 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	83	58y

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2000-01-17

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

19a Salisbury Place

Edinburgh

Midlothian

EH9 1SL

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last: 2026-01-17

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

LANG, Mary-Ellen Elizabeth→

secretary · appointed 2000-01-17

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LANG, Mary-Ellen Elizabeth→

director · ~59y · appointed 2000-01-17

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

ASHCROFT CAMERON SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-01-17 · resigned 2000-01-17

Resigned

DEAN, Alan Thomas→

director · ~62y · appointed 2008-02-12 · resigned 2011-01-16

Resigned

SIEFFERT, Sylvia Maria→

director · ~60y · appointed 2000-01-17 · resigned 2008-02-12

Resigned

ASHCROFT CAMERON NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-01-17 · resigned 2000-01-17

Resigned

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