CLIFFE CATTERALL LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC216859 · ltd · incorporated 2001-03-14

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

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). 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

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

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

69 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 · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2025-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-04-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-10-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-09-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-04-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-05
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2015-12-31
➖
AIKMAN, Margaret Kirkwood resigned
director
2015-12-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-04-02
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2001-03-30
➕
CATTERALL, Stephen John Cliffe appointed
secretary
2001-03-30
➕
CATTERALL, Stephen John Cliffe appointed
director
2001-03-30
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-03-30
➕
AIKMAN, Margaret Kirkwood appointed
director
2001-03-30
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2001-03-14
🏢
Company incorporated
As CLIFFE CATTERALL LIMITED
2001-03-14
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-03-14
➕
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
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 "CATTERALL" — 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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Stephen John Cliffe Catterall Individual · British · DOB 11/1949 · age 77	50–75%	50–75%	board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control	01/11/2016
Ms Margaret Kirkwood Aikman Individual · British · DOB 02/1955 · age 71	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · EH postcode area

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EDEN SCOTT LTD→ SC243605 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
EDIN CAR RENTAL LTD→ SC818248 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
EDINBURGH BUSINESS CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC720440 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
EDINBURGH FEE CORP LIMITED→ SC841381 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL OF CYCLING LTD.→ SC442447 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
EDINBURGH MEASURED SURVEY LTD→ SC776178 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
EDINBURGH PROVISIONS IP LTD→ SC608480 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
EDINBURGH SUPERCAR HIRE LIMITED→ SC672787 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
EDIXOMED LIMITED→ SC363191 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
EDMOND FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC449778 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
EDYN CREATIVE LTD→ SC549493 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
EILDON MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ SC374222 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—

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

Incorporated2001-03-14

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

21 Dick Place

Edinburgh

EH9 2JU

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 · 3 resigned)

CATTERALL, Stephen John Cliffe→

secretary · appointed 2001-03-30

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CATTERALL, Stephen John Cliffe→

director · ~77y · appointed 2001-03-30

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-03-14 · resigned 2001-03-30

Resigned

AIKMAN, Margaret Kirkwood→

director · ~71y · appointed 2001-03-30 · resigned 2015-12-31

Resigned

JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-03-14 · resigned 2001-03-30

Resigned

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