GSC TIMBER LTD.

💤Zombieactive

SC266454 · ltd · incorporated 2004-04-14

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company 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 (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

55 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	-500	-300

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2025-09-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-10-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-12
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-05-20
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-05-30
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2007-08-28
➕
MCDOWALL, Susan appointed
secretary
2007-08-28
➖
TAGGART, Joanne resigned
secretary
2006-11-07
➕
TAGGART, Joanne appointed
secretary
2006-11-01
➖
WHITELAW, Justin resigned
secretary
2004-04-14
🏢
Company incorporated
As GSC TIMBER LTD.
2004-04-14
➕
MCDOWALL, Gordon appointed
director
2004-04-14
➕
WHITELAW, Justin appointed
secretary
2004-04-14
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-04-14
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-04-14
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-04-14
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-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 22 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 22 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Gordon Mcdowall Individual · British · DOB 07/1964 · age 62	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	14/04/2017

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

Similar companies

Active · Construction · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
MCTAGGART CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC042957 · est 1965	£13.64M £9.74M–£17.53M	—	—	152	60y	85	61y
MCTAGGART GROUP LIMITED→ SC314901 · est 2007	£10.61M £7.58M–£13.63M	—	—	0	19y	83	61y
DALCON LIMITED→ SC327630 · est 2007	£6.00M £4.28M–£7.71M	—	—	96	18y	88	58y
ABN SERVICES CO. LTD.→ SC216960 · est 2001	£187.1k £133.6k–£240.6k	—	—	35	25y	83	61y
BWA NEXUS LIMITED→ SC205639 · est 2000	£70.3k £50.3k–£90.5k	—	—	3	26y	92	62y
MACMILLAN PRESERVATION LIMITED→ SC123252 · est 1990	£10.7k £7.7k–£13.8k	—	—	5	36y	82	65y
ALBA DEWATERING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC235431 · est 2002	—	—	—	40	23y	83	66y
BURNAWN SERVICES LTD→ SC307932 · est 2006	—	—	—	1400	19y	83	58y
CLYDE COAST CONTRACTS LIMITED→ SC068689 · est 1979	—	—	£5.34M	—	46y	83	64y
JJL GROUNDWORKS (AYR) LTD.→ SC256402 · est 2003	—	—	£2.22M	—	22y	83	60y
MCTAGGART CIVILS LIMITED→ SC344109 · est 2008	—	—	—	0	18y	83	61y
RTS CONTRACTS LIMITED→ SC205745 · est 2000	—	—	£961.4k	—	26y	83	61y

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

Incorporated2004-04-14

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Registered office

20 Wellington Square

Ayr

Ayrshire

KA7 1EZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-28

Last: 2026-04-14

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

MCDOWALL, Susan→

secretary · appointed 2007-08-28

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCDOWALL, Gordon→

director · ~62y · appointed 2004-04-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

TAGGART, Joanne→

secretary · appointed 2006-11-07 · resigned 2007-08-28

Resigned

WHITELAW, Justin→

secretary · appointed 2004-04-14 · resigned 2006-11-01

Resigned

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-04-14 · resigned 2004-04-14

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-04-14 · resigned 2004-04-14

Resigned

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