CELLFIELD READING MATTERS UK LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC239953 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-21
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
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 85600Educational support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 23.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 23.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · 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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
69 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · IFRS| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £3.5k |
| Current assets | — | £12.9k |
| Net assets | — | £3.5k |
| Average employees | 300 | — |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-17📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-11-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-08-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-08-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-08-03📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2002-12-06🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2002-11-21🏢Company incorporatedAs CELLFIELD READING MATTERS UK LTD
- 2002-11-21➕MACDIARMID, Walter appointedsecretary
- 2002-11-21➕MACDIARMID, Fiona Elizabeth appointeddirector
- 2002-11-21➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-11-21➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
cleanNo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Fiona Elizabeth Mcdiarmid Individual · British · DOB 12/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Walter Macdiarmidceased 22/07/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Education & training · FK postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GREEN ROUTES STIRLING→ SC337234 · est 2008 | — | — | — | 11 | 18y | 83 | 79y |
| FORTH ENVIRONMENT LINK→ SC286723 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | 81 | 73y |
| ADVENTURE EMERGENCY CARE LIMITED→ SC161395 · est 1995 | — | — | £10 | — | 30y | 80 | 62y |
| DOLLAR NURSERY HOLDINGS LTD→ SC424591 · est 2012 | — | — | — | — | 13y | 80 | 62y |
| DOLLAR NURSERY SCHOOL LTD→ SC270966 · est 2004 | — | — | £475.5k | — | 21y | 80 | 62y |
| INDEPENDENT TRAINING SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC256315 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 400 | 22y | 80 | 65y |
| LRN2DRIVE LTD→ SC322660 · est 2007 | — | — | — | — | 18y | 80 | 74y |
| NJP CONSULTANCY AND TRAINING LTD.→ SC300888 · est 2006 | — | — | £3.6k | — | 20y | 80 | 73y |
| OPP4CHANGE LTD→ SC386452 · est 2010 | — | — | — | — | 15y | 80 | 77y |
| STEP UP SKILLS LIMITED→ SC476414 · est 2014 | — | — | £4.0k | — | 11y | 80 | 60y |
| ROBIN IFFLA TRAINING LTD.→ SC317383 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| SBCN LTD→ SC880816 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-11-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.
Registered office
Springfield House
Laurelhill Business Park
Stirling
FK7 9JQ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-14
Last: 2025-07-31
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
MACDIARMID, Walter→
Activesecretary · appointed 2002-11-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MACDIARMID, Fiona Elizabeth→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2002-11-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2002-11-21
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 06/12/2002 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (69 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-11
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2023-02-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-08-10