DESIGNSHOP (EDINBURGH) LTD.

💤Zombieactive

SC218833 · ltd · incorporated 2001-05-03

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 Apr 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

77/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

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

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 17.4y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 17.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

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

1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

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

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

4 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

92 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

77/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2024-04-30
Average employees	0

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 officers

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2026-02-03
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-11-29
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-03
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-02-07
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-12-10
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-07-25
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-20
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-06-19
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2010-03-07
➖
MACDONALD WATSON, Robert Andrew resigned
secretary
2009-07-13
➖
MACDONALD WATSON, Robert Andrew resigned
director
2009-06-02
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2008-12-22
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Tiuta PLC
2001-05-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As DESIGNSHOP (EDINBURGH) LTD.
2001-05-03
➕
HADDAD, Patrick Andrew Michel appointed
director
2001-05-03
➕
MACDONALD WATSON, Robert Andrew appointed
secretary
2001-05-03
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-05-03
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-05-03
➕
MACDONALD WATSON, Robert Andrew appointed
director
2001-05-03
➕
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2001-05-03
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100

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.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

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 Patrick Andrew Michel Haddad Individual · British · DOB 12/1970 · age 56	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Retail · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DRAGONFLY CRYSTALS & GIFTS LTD→ SC767676 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
DUKES FINE ART LIMITED→ SC754375 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
E SHOP HEATING LTD→ SC480498 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
EDINBURGH BUDGET BLINDS LIMITED→ SC577171 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
EDINBURGH HEARING AND BALANCE SPECIALISTS LTD→ SC819811 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
EDINBURGH SUPERMARKET LTD→ SC843244 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
EGO NUMB LTD→ SC870003 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
EGO TRIP HQ LTD→ SC839990 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ELEV8HER LTD→ SC867568 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
EMILY JAMES BESPOKE CABINETRY LTD→ SC659533 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
EMMA DREWERY OPTOMETRIST LTD.→ SC333014 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
ENGHIEN TRADING LIMITED→ SC848402 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

Incorporated2001-05-03

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47599 — Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Registered office

40 Woodside Drive

Penicuik

EH26 8BH

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-05-03

Last made up to: 2024-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-05-17

Last: 2025-05-03

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

HADDAD, Patrick Andrew Michel→

director · ~56y · appointed 2001-05-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MACDONALD WATSON, Robert Andrew→

secretary · appointed 2001-05-03 · resigned 2010-03-07

Resigned

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-05-03 · resigned 2001-05-03

Resigned

MACDONALD WATSON, Robert Andrew→

director · ~76y · appointed 2001-05-03 · resigned 2009-07-13

Resigned

JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-05-03 · resigned 2001-05-03

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	satisfied	Tiuta Tiuta PLC	Legal charge	1 property	22/12/2008	02/06/2009

Recent filings (92 total)

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened

accounts · AA01

2026-02-03

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2025-11-29

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-08-02

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-05-14

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened

accounts · AA01

2025-05-03

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened

accounts · AA01

2025-02-07

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended

accounts · AA01

2024-12-10

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC04

2024-07-25

resolution

resolution · RESOLUTIONS

2024-06-20

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2024-06-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-06-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-06-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-06-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-06-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-06-19