CRUICKSHANK & PARTNERS (ABERDEEN) LTD.

💤Zombieactive

SC214789 · ltd · incorporated 2001-01-16

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 Jan 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Specialised design activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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 (75/100)

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

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

58 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
Average employees	100	100

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 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2025-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-10-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-10-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-07-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-06-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-02-10
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-01-22
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2001-01-16
🏢
Company incorporated
As CRUICKSHANK & PARTNERS (ABERDEEN) LTD.
2001-01-16
➕
CRUICKSHANK, Elaine Helen appointed
secretary
2001-01-16
➕
CRUICKSHANK, Robert appointed
director
2001-01-16
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-01-16
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-01-16
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2001-01-16
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2001-01-16
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2001-01-16
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD. resigned
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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CRUICKSHANK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — 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 62. 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 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

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 Robert Cruickshank Individual · Scottish · DOB 01/1964 · age 62	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	15/01/2017

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

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · AB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
GD SMITH ABERDEEN LTD→ SC777374 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
GENERAL OCEANS UK HOLDINGS LTD→ SC308386 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
GENERAL SERVICES 3 LIMITED→ SC581110 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
GEOLINK (UK) LIMITED→ SC554864 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
GEOMO SUBSURFACE SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC884177 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
GEORGE HADDEN ARCHITECTURAL AGENT LIMITED→ SC399619 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
GEORGE M. MCKAY LIMITED→ SC161342 · est 1995 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	30y	—	—
GEORGE MCCABE LIMITED→ SC617015 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
GEORGE OKOROMA & ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC847805 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
GEOSONIC OCEANOGRAPHIC SURVEYS LTD→ SC787463 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
GESCHWENDER HOLDINGS (UK) LIMITED→ SC527269 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
GGC ADVISORY LTD→ SC802447 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

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

Incorporated2001-01-16

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

612 King Street

Aberdeen

Aberdeenshire

AB24 1SN

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-28

Last: 2025-11-14

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

CRUICKSHANK, Elaine Helen→

secretary · appointed 2001-01-16

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CRUICKSHANK, Robert→

director · ~62y · appointed 2001-01-16

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-01-16 · resigned 2001-01-16

Resigned

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-01-16 · resigned 2001-01-16

Resigned

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-01-16 · resigned 2001-01-16

Resigned

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