GRIFFEN DESIGN LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC261157 · ltd · incorporated 2003-12-21
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

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
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 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
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Average employees800800

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 (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-03-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2017-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-02-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-01-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-03-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-02-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-01-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2013-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2010-10-26
    ➕
    MURRAY, Kristina appointed
    secretary
  17. 2010-10-26
    ➖
    GRIFFEN, Angela resigned
    secretary
  18. 2010-10-26
    ➖
    GRIFFEN, Angela resigned
    director
  19. 2009-05-05
    ➖
    GRIFFEN, David resigned
    director
  20. 2005-08-24
    ➕
    MURRAY, Kristina appointed
    director
  21. 2005-08-24
    ➕
    MURRAY, Nathan David appointed
    director
  22. 2003-12-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As GRIFFEN DESIGN LIMITED
  23. 2003-12-21
    ➕
    GRIFFEN, Angela appointed
    secretary
  24. 2003-12-21
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-12-21
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-12-21
    ➕
    GRIFFEN, Angela appointed
    director
  27. 2003-12-21
    ➕
    GRIFFEN, David appointed
    director
  28. 2003-12-21
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 2003-12-21
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

66/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Nathan David Murray
Individual · British · DOB 03/1975 · age 51
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Kristina Murray
Individual · Swedish · DOB 03/1976 · age 50
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

6 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
Incorporated2003-12-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities

Registered office

6 Osprey Bank
Fowlis
Dundee
Angus
DD2 5GE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-30
Last: 2025-12-16

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

MURRAY, Kristina→
secretary · appointed 2010-10-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURRAY, Kristina→
director · ~50y · appointed 2005-08-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURRAY, Nathan David→
director · ~51y · appointed 2005-08-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRIFFEN, Angela→
secretary · appointed 2003-12-21 · resigned 2010-10-26
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-12-21 · resigned 2003-12-21
Resigned
GRIFFEN, Angela→
director · ~56y · appointed 2003-12-21 · resigned 2010-10-26
Resigned
GRIFFEN, David→
director · ~55y · appointed 2003-12-21 · resigned 2009-05-05
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-12-21 · resigned 2003-12-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (68 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-07