FOOTWORKS (EDINBURGH) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC255915 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-16
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
£23.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of footwear in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). 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 (76/100)

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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £23,384
Cash YoY
-14%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£68k
↓ 14% YoY
Net Worth
£23k
↑ 9.7% YoY
Current Assets
£158k
↓ 6.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£34k£68k£101k£135k£169kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£23.4k£21.3k
Current assets£158.1k£169.1k
Cash£68.1k£79.1k
Net assets£23.4k£21.3k

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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2022-07-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-08-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2020-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-05-29
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  12. 2017-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-03-15
    ➖
    MURRAY, Jennifer Margaret resigned
    director
  14. 2017-03-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2017-02-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2017-02-01
    ➕
    MCPHAIL, Colin David appointed
    director
  17. 2016-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2015-06-01
    ➖
    MCPHAIL, Colin David resigned
    director
  19. 2015-06-01
    ➕
    MURRAY, Jennifer Margaret appointed
    director
  20. 2005-09-09
    ➕
    MCPHAIL, Isla Margaret appointed
    secretary
  21. 2005-09-09
    ➖
    LITTLE, Vivian Mary resigned
    secretary
  22. 2005-09-09
    ➖
    LITTLE, Vivian Mary resigned
    director
  23. 2003-09-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FOOTWORKS (EDINBURGH) LIMITED
  24. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    LITTLE, Vivian Mary appointed
    secretary
  25. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-09-16
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    LITTLE, Vivian Mary appointed
    director
  28. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    MCPHAIL, Colin David appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
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 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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 Colin David Mcphail
Individual · British · DOB 10/1957 · age 69
75–100%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence06/04/2016

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

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JH ONLINE RETAIL LTD→
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———————
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SC563696 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
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SC794443 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
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SC867999 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
JOHENTERPRISES LTD→
SC780670 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
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SC251602 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
JOHN KAY'S SHOP LTD→
SC579311 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
JOKER & THIEF LTD→
SC704741 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
JOLLIE BEAUTY LTD→
SC858384 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
JON DORY (UK) LTD→
SC754878 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
JONES AND HOYLAND LIMITED→
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————21y——
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
Incorporated2003-09-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47721 — Retail sale of footwear in specialised stores

Registered office

9b Churchill Way
Kirknewton
EH27 8AE
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

MCPHAIL, Isla Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2005-09-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCPHAIL, Colin David→
director · ~69y · appointed 2017-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITTLE, Vivian Mary→
secretary · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2005-09-09
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2003-09-16
Resigned
LITTLE, Vivian Mary→
director · ~68y · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2005-09-09
Resigned
MCPHAIL, Colin David→
director · ~69y · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2015-06-01
Resigned
MURRAY, Jennifer Margaret→
director · ~40y · appointed 2015-06-01 · resigned 2017-03-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (61 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-19