1ST 4 SECURITY LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC222736 · ltd · incorporated 2001-08-31
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Undifferentiated service-producing activities of private households for own use
Sector: Activities of households
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 1 with DOB)
73
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
73 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  4. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  5. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  6. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  7. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  8. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AAMD
  9. 2023-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-08-03
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  11. 2022-08-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-07-26
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  13. 2021-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-05-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2014-08-20
    ➖
    STEWART, Francise Gordon resigned
    secretary
  18. 2005-09-21
    ➕
    STEWART, Francise Gordon appointed
    secretary
  19. 2005-09-20
    ➖
    CLARK, Allen resigned
    secretary
  20. 2001-08-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST 4 SECURITY LTD.
  21. 2001-08-31
    ➕
    HUNTER, Derek appointed
    director
  22. 2001-08-31
    ➕
    CLARK, Allen appointed
    secretary
  23. 2001-08-31
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2001-08-31
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2001-08-31
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2001-08-31
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2001-08-31
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2001-08-31
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD. 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 60 — 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 60. 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Derek Hunter
Individual · British · DOB 10/1966 · age 60
75–100%
75–100%sig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · significant influence06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2001-08-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC98200 — Undifferentiated service-producing activities of private households for own use

Registered office

17 Moulin Way
Dunfermline
Fife
KY12 7QQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-16
Last: 2025-08-02

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

HUNTER, Derek→
director · ~60y · appointed 2001-08-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CLARK, Allen→
secretary · appointed 2001-08-31 · resigned 2005-09-20
Resigned
STEWART, Francise Gordon→
secretary · appointed 2005-09-21 · resigned 2014-08-20
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-08-31 · resigned 2001-08-31
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-08-31 · resigned 2001-08-31
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-08-31 · resigned 2001-08-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (73 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-11-01
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-11-01
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-11-01
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-11-01
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-11-01
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AAMD
2023-11-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-29
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-08-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-02