DAVID SMITH (PLANT HIRE) LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC231295 · ltd · incorporated 2002-05-09
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
£15.68M
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of trucks and other heavy vehicles
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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
4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 19.5y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 19.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
75
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £15,682,281
Cash YoY
+48%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£957k
↑ 48% YoY
Net Worth
£16m
↑ 9.1% YoY
Current Assets
£2.4m
↑ 38% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-04-30 | 2023-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £17.07M | £15.77M |
| Current assets | £2.38M | £1.73M |
| Cash | £957.4k | £646.8k |
| Debtors | £1.34M | £999.5k |
| Net assets | £15.68M | £14.37M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-05📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-11-05🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2021-07-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-17📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2018-07-17🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2018-05-11📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-05-11📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-05-09🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-05-09🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-04-25📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-04-24🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-16📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2006-10-31🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 2002-05-09🏢Company incorporatedAs DAVID SMITH (PLANT HIRE) LTD.
- 2002-05-09➕SMITH, Rhoda Mclean appointedsecretary
- 2002-05-09➕SMITH, David Alexander appointeddirector
- 2002-05-09➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-05-09➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-05-09➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-05-09➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 "SMITH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Alexander Smith Individual · British · DOB 06/1981 · age 45 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 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 · Professional services · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECO2OZ BIOSOLUTIONS LTD→ SC827521 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| EM22 LTD→ SC733099 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| EMERALD AGENCY LIMITED→ SC770973 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ENERDEV CONSULTING LIMITED→ SC868181 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ENERFLOAT LTD→ SC787387 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ENERGY SERVICES INTERNATIONAL LTD→ SC504664 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ENERSIGHTS LIMITED→ SC853531 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ENGAGE OFFSHORE LTD→ SC787238 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ENGAGE TALENT PARTNERS LTD→ SC596196 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ENRICH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED→ SC631999 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ENSONIFY LIMITED→ SC752922 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ENTEQ LIMITED→ SC543717 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-05-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC77120 — Renting and leasing of trucks and other heavy vehicles
Registered office
Cairnmuir, Memsie
Fraserburgh
Aberdeenshire
AB43 7AR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-18
Last: 2025-05-04
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
SMITH, Rhoda Mclean→
Activesecretary · appointed 2002-05-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, David Alexander→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2002-05-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-05-09 · resigned 2002-05-09
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-05-09 · resigned 2002-05-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 09/05/2018 | 05/11/2021 | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 09/05/2018 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 24/04/2018 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Standard security | 1 property | 31/10/2006 | 17/07/2018 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (61 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-11-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-13