MARKETING SERVICES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC241331 · ltd · incorporated 2002-12-18
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
£142.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Real estate agencies
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Property-backed borrower with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 11.3y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 11.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £142,432
Cash YoY
+3%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£212k
↑ 2.8% YoY
Net Worth
£142k
↑ 4.1% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£42k£85k£127k£170k£212kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£153.3k£219.5k
Current assets—£206.5k
Cash£212.3k£206.5k
Net assets£142.4k£136.8k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-04-28
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2023-04-28
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2023-04-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2023-04-04
    ➖
    MCILVANEY, John Mcdougall resigned
    director
  8. 2022-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-12-19
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2016-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-12-18
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-01-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 2015-01-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  19. 2009-03-31
    ➕
    DUNCAN, Lindsay Edward appointed
    secretary
  20. 2009-03-31
    ➕
    DUNCAN, Lindsay Edward appointed
    director
  21. 2009-03-31
    ➖
    BROWN, Thomas resigned
    secretary
  22. 2009-03-31
    ➖
    BROWN, Thomas resigned
    director
  23. 2009-03-31
    ➕
    MCILVANEY, John Mcdougall appointed
    director
  24. 2009-03-31
    ➖
    RILEY, John David resigned
    director
  25. 2003-01-13
    ➕
    BROWN, Thomas appointed
    secretary
  26. 2003-01-13
    ➖
    PF & S (SECRETARIES) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  27. 2003-01-13
    ➕
    BROWN, Thomas appointed
    director
  28. 2003-01-13
    ➕
    RILEY, John David appointed
    director
  29. 2003-01-13
    ➖
    PF & S (DIRECTORS) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  30. 2002-12-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MARKETING SERVICES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
  31. 2002-12-18
    ➕
    PF & S (SECRETARIES) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  32. 2002-12-18
    ➕
    PF & S (DIRECTORS) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • 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

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
Lindsay Edward Duncan
Individual · British · DOB 03/1963 · age 63
75–100%
25–50%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • John Mcdougall Mcilvaneyceased 04/04/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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

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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
Incorporated2002-12-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68310 — Real estate agencies

Registered office

13 Hope Street
Lanark
Lanarkshire
ML11 7NL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-01
Last: 2025-12-18

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

DUNCAN, Lindsay Edward→
secretary · appointed 2009-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNCAN, Lindsay Edward→
director · ~63y · appointed 2009-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BROWN, Thomas→
secretary · appointed 2003-01-13 · resigned 2009-03-31
Resigned
PF & S (SECRETARIES) LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-12-18 · resigned 2003-01-13
Resigned
BROWN, Thomas→
director · ~67y · appointed 2003-01-13 · resigned 2009-03-31
Resigned
MCILVANEY, John Mcdougall→
director · ~55y · appointed 2009-03-31 · resigned 2023-04-04
Resigned
RILEY, John David→
director · ~70y · appointed 2003-01-13 · resigned 2009-03-31
Resigned
PF & S (DIRECTORS) LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2002-12-18 · resigned 2003-01-13
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property30/01/2015—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—20/01/2015—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (72 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-04-28
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-01