A. DINGWALL LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC250022 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-23
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£21.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Painting
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 43342Glazing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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

1 live charge · oldest 22.7y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 22.7 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, 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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £21,026

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£21k
↑ 67% YoY
Current Assets
£108k
↓ 5.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£23k£45k£68k£91k£114kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£21.0k£12.6k
Current assets£107.6k£113.7k
Net assets£21.0k£12.6k

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 (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-14
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  4. 2024-10-14
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  5. 2024-10-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2024-10-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2024-10-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2024-10-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2024-10-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2023-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-09-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2022-09-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2022-09-09
    ➕
    DINGWALL, Anthony appointed
    director
  14. 2022-09-09
    ➖
    DINGWALL, Anthony resigned
    director
  15. 2022-09-09
    ➕
    DINGWALL, Russell appointed
    director
  16. 2022-09-09
    ➖
    DINGWALL, Russell resigned
    director
  17. 2022-09-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2022-09-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  19. 2022-09-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2022-09-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  21. 2022-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  22. 2021-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  23. 2020-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  24. 2019-06-18
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  25. 2003-09-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Scotland PLC
  26. 2003-05-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A. DINGWALL LTD.
  27. 2003-05-23
    ➕
    DINGWALL, Sharron appointed
    secretary
  28. 2003-05-23
    ➕
    DINGWALL, Alan appointed
    director
  29. 2003-05-23
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2003-05-23
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2003-05-23
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 2003-05-23
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DINGWALL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 66. 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

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
Alan Dingwall
Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66
50–75%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Russell Dingwallceased 21/08/2024· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Anthony Dingwallceased 21/08/2024· 25-50% shares
  • Sharron Dingwallceased 21/08/2024· 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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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
G & A BARNIE GROUP LIMITED→
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£5.89M
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——42622y8468y
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SC135278 · est 1991
£5.10M
£3.64M–£6.56M
——6534y8875y
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£3.87M
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——3549y8871y
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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
Incorporated2003-05-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43341 — Painting

Registered office

4th Floor Metropolitan House
31-33 High Street
Inverness
IV1 1HT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-30
Last: 2025-10-16

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

DINGWALL, Sharron→
secretary · appointed 2003-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DINGWALL, Alan→
director · ~66y · appointed 2003-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-05-23 · resigned 2003-05-23
Resigned
DINGWALL, Anthony→
director · ~32y · appointed 2022-09-09 · resigned 2022-09-09
Resigned
DINGWALL, Russell→
director · ~29y · appointed 2022-09-09 · resigned 2022-09-09
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-05-23 · resigned 2003-05-23
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property17/09/200318/06/2019

Recent filings (68 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-15
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-10-14
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-09-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-09-15