KITS DIRECT LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC214695 · ltd · incorporated 2001-01-12
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£-300.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

7 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 24.0y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 24.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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
75
Lenders & charges
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
8 connected companies via shared directors
69
Filing history
87 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
74
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £300,144

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£300k
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
-£300k-£300k-£300k-£300k-£300k-£300kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£-144£-144
Net assets£-300.1k£-300.1k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-03-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2023-03-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2022-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-12-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2019-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2013-04-01
    ➖
    HOWIE, Stewart resigned
    director
  16. 2011-02-04
    ➖
    KEAN, James Harkins resigned
    director
  17. 2006-12-20
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  18. 2006-12-20
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  19. 2005-01-05
    ➕
    KEAN, Paul appointed
    secretary
  20. 2005-01-05
    ➖
    KEAN, Ann resigned
    secretary
  21. 2004-09-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
  22. 2002-08-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  23. 2002-08-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
  24. 2002-08-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: UK Steel Enterprise Limited
  25. 2002-07-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: UK Steel Enterprise Limited
  26. 2002-06-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
  27. 2002-04-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  28. 2001-01-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As KITS DIRECT LIMITED
  29. 2001-01-12
    ➕
    KEAN, Paul appointed
    director
  30. 2001-01-12
    ➕
    KEAN, Ann appointed
    secretary
  31. 2001-01-12
    ➕
    FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 2001-01-12
    ➖
    FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  33. 2001-01-12
    ➕
    HOWIE, Stewart appointed
    director
  34. 2001-01-12
    ➕
    KEAN, James Harkins appointed
    director
  35. 2001-01-12
    ➕
    FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  36. 2001-01-12
    ➖
    FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES 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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

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 63. 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 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

1 med · 1 low
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Paul Kean
Individual · British · DOB 03/1963 · age 63
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr James Harkins Keanceased 13/03/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
  • Mr Stewart Howieceased 13/03/2023· 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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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
Incorporated2001-01-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74909 — Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.

Registered office

1 Cambuslang Court
Cambuslang
Glasgow
G32 8FH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-27
Last: 2026-03-13

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

KEAN, Paul→
secretary · appointed 2005-01-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KEAN, Paul→
director · ~63y · appointed 2001-01-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KEAN, Ann→
secretary · appointed 2001-01-12 · resigned 2005-01-05
Resigned
FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-01-12 · resigned 2001-01-12
Resigned
HOWIE, Stewart→
director · ~66y · appointed 2001-01-12 · resigned 2013-04-01
Resigned
KEAN, James Harkins→
director · ~66y · appointed 2001-01-12 · resigned 2011-02-04
Resigned
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-01-12 · resigned 2001-01-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
5
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
Bond & floating charge1 property10/09/2004—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Standard security1 property02/08/2002—
outstanding
Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
Standard security1 property02/08/2002—
outstanding
UK Steel Enterprise
UK Steel Enterprise Limited
Standard security1 property02/08/2002—
satisfied
UK Steel Enterprise
UK Steel Enterprise Limited
Bond & floating charge1 property05/07/200220/12/2006
satisfied
Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
Bond & floating charge1 property21/06/200220/12/2006
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property26/04/2002—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (87 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-13
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-13
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-12