DRYBURGH SUBSEA ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD

🌳Matureactive

SC223505 · ltd · incorporated 2001-09-24

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

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

—

year to Apr 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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

What this business does

Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.

Sector: Other service activities

Investor take

Pursue

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

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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

6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

72 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	2025-04-05	2024-04-05
Average employees	200	200

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

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2025-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-01-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-10-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-06-13
📄
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2017-06-13
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2016-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-10-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2015-10-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2008-05-15
➕
DRYBURGH, Elma Jane appointed
director
2007-10-30
➕
DRYBURGH, Elma Jane appointed
secretary
2007-10-30
➖
FREELANCE EURO CONTRACTING LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2001-09-24
🏢
Company incorporated
As DRYBURGH SUBSEA ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD
2001-09-24
➕
DRYBURGH, Steven Currie appointed
director
2001-09-24
➕
FREELANCE EURO CONTRACTING LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2001-09-24
➕
GRANT SMITH LAW PRACTICE appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-09-24
➖
GRANT SMITH LAW PRACTICE resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-09-24
➕
AMIN, Rizwana Shaheen appointed
nominee-director
2001-09-24
➖
AMIN, Rizwana Shaheen resigned
nominee-director

Owner dependency

99/100

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

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DRYBURGH" — 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 58 — approaching natural succession window.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100

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 58. Early succession window.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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
Mrs Elma Jane Dryburgh Individual · British · DOB 07/1969 · age 57	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	01/07/2016
Mr Steven Currie Dryburgh Individual · British · DOB 09/1968 · age 58	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	01/07/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Trade services · AB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
UNIQUE SYSTEM (UK) LIMITED→ SC356252 · est 2009	£28.64M £21.48M–£35.80M	£23.27M	—	3800	17y	95	65y
ENPRO SUBSEA LIMITED→ SC398784 · est 2011	£8.95M £6.71M–£11.19M	—	—	34	15y	84	66y
UNITY WELL INTEGRITY UK LIMITED→ SC273906 · est 2004	£5.70M £4.27M–£7.12M	—	—	8200	21y	84	62y
JAMES JAMIESON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC386496 · est 2010	£2.69M £2.02M–£3.36M	£13.65M	—	3800	15y	84	68y
CASTLETON FRUIT LTD.→ SC369372 · est 2009	£2.18M £1.63M–£2.72M	£15.34M	—	30100	16y	83	52y
MINTRA LTD→ SC362194 · est 2009	£1.21M £909.4k–£1.52M	£11.76M	—	7500	16y	85	62y
ACUMEN FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED→ SC215343 · est 2001	—	—	£1.05M	—	25y	83	74y
ANIRAC LIMITED→ SC280789 · est 2005	—	—	£1.67M	—	21y	83	85y
ASHLEY PROPERTIES ABERDEEN LIMITED→ SC315836 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	83	78y
BUILDTALL LIMITED→ SC235986 · est 2002	—	—	£4.39M	—	23y	83	59y
DRUMMUIR & BOTRIPHNIE COMMUNITY TRUST→ SC273043 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	83	67y
EIJ DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ SC226210 · est 2001	—	—	£1.38M	—	24y	83	69y

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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

Incorporated2001-09-24

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

5 Marine View

Muchalls

Stonehaven

Kincardineshire

AB39 3TG

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-05

Last made up to: 2025-04-05

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-04

Last: 2025-09-20

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

DRYBURGH, Elma Jane→

secretary · appointed 2007-10-30

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DRYBURGH, Elma Jane→

director · ~57y · appointed 2008-05-15

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DRYBURGH, Steven Currie→

director · ~58y · appointed 2001-09-24

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FREELANCE EURO CONTRACTING LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2001-09-24 · resigned 2007-10-30

Resigned

GRANT SMITH LAW PRACTICE→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-09-24 · resigned 2001-09-24

Resigned

AMIN, Rizwana Shaheen→

nominee-director · ~55y · appointed 2001-09-24 · resigned 2001-09-24

Resigned

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