LPS (SOUTH) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC249999 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-22
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
£1
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Dormant / non-trading with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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: 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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
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
49 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
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1
Very low cash
Cash position: £1
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£1
~ YoY
Net Worth
£1
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£1£1£1Jul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Total assets£1£1
Cash£1£1
Net assets£1£1

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-04-20
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  7. 2020-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-05-20
    ➕
    RITCHIE-COOMBS, Lori Ann appointed
    secretary
  9. 2019-05-20
    ➖
    BRISTON, Terence resigned
    secretary
  10. 2019-05-20
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  11. 2019-05-20
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  12. 2019-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-06-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-06-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2015-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2003-05-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As LPS (SOUTH) LIMITED
  20. 2003-05-22
    ➕
    RITCHIE, Andrew appointed
    director
  21. 2003-05-22
    ➕
    BRISTON, Terence appointed
    secretary
  22. 2003-05-22
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-05-22
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — 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 62. 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 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

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 Andrew Ritchie
Individual · British · DOB 02/1964 · age 62
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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 · Holding company · DG postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
J. KELLY & SONS (HAMILTON) LIMITED→
SC020771 · est 1939
£7.77M
£6.60M–£8.93M
—£7.77M—87y8263y
ROGERSON MOTORS LIMITED→
SC055796 · est 1974
£205.8k
£174.9k–£236.7k
—£205.8k—51y8283y
BUILDING CRAFTSMEN LIMITED→
SC184995 · est 1998
£51.5k
£43.7k–£59.2k
—£51.5k—28y8068y
MATHER PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→
SC317394 · est 2007
£1.0k
£851–£1.2k
—£1.0k—19y8269y
JARDINE AND COMPANY (IRONMONGERS) LIMITED→
SC041600 · est 1965
£354
£301–£407
—£354—61y8088y
CAULDHAME LIMITED→
SC266350 · est 2004
£57
£48–£66
—£57—22y8063y
J KELLY & SONS (LARKHALL) LIMITED→
SC175597 · est 1997
£2
£2–£2
—£2—28y8063y
CINNAMON 2007 LIMITED→
SC312763 · est 2006
———019y8281y
CLAN CENTRE LIMITED→
SC113050 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
————37y8162y
ELRIG ESTATE COMPANY LIMITED→
SC133061 · est 1991
———10034y8175y
THE COUNTRY TRADER LIMITED→
SC127204 · est 1990 · no financials extracted
————35y8162y
ANTARTEX LIMITED→
SC071934 · est 1980 · no financials extracted
————45y8062y
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
Incorporated2003-05-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company

Registered office

Cove Farm, Cove Estate
Kirkpatrick Fleming
By Lockerbie
Dumfiesshire
DG11 3AT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-05
Last: 2025-05-22

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

RITCHIE-COOMBS, Lori Ann→
secretary · appointed 2019-05-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RITCHIE, Andrew→
director · ~62y · appointed 2003-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRISTON, Terence→
secretary · appointed 2003-05-22 · resigned 2019-05-20
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-05-22 · resigned 2003-05-22
Resigned

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

Recent filings (49 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-29
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2020-04-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-03
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2019-05-20