I.S.S. (ABERDEEN) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC268422 · ltd · incorporated 2004-05-26

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

£136.2k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 33140

Sector: Manufacturing

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

33190SIC 33190
77390Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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, 3 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

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

62 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £136,248

Net assets shrinking

Down £3,189 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£136k

↓ 2.3% YoY

Current Assets

£128k

↑ 11% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£136.2k	£139.4k
Current assets	£127.6k	£114.9k
Net assets	£136.2k	£139.4k

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

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2025-11-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-08
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2019-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-31
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2018-11-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-12-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-09-30
➖
RUSSELL, John resigned
director
2004-05-26
🏢
Company incorporated
As I.S.S. (ABERDEEN) LIMITED
2004-05-26
➕
MACKAY, Susan appointed
secretary
2004-05-26
➕
MACKAY, John appointed
director
2004-05-26
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-05-26
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-05-26
➕
RUSSELL, John appointed
director
2004-05-26
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-05-26
➖
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 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 64. 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 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr John Mackay Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence · firm interest	01/01/2017

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Mrs Irene Mitchell Russellceased 15/11/2019· 25-50% shares

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

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Active · Manufacturing · AB postcode area

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JSG PROJECTS SCOTLAND LTD→ SC678671 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
JZ.NDT INSPECTION LTD→ SC617556 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
K & M SERVICES LTD→ SC817077 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
K C EMSLIE LIMITED→ SC738585 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
K.D. MARINE LIMITED→ SC111817 · est 1988 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	37y	—	—
K.G.B RIGGING & LIFTING SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC742400 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
KAM ROPES LTD→ SC854644 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
KEITH MITCHELL LIFTING LIMITED→ SC718585 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
KEITH ROSE ENGINEERING LTD.→ SC337330 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
KENZFIGEE LIMITED→ SC635534 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
KERLOCH ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC477462 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
KESTREL ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD.→ SC300810 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—

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

Incorporated2004-05-26

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC33140 — SIC 33140

Registered office

15 South College Street

Aberdeen

AB11 6JX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-06-09

Last: 2025-05-26

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

MACKAY, Susan→

secretary · appointed 2004-05-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MACKAY, John→

director · ~64y · appointed 2004-05-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-05-26 · resigned 2004-05-26

Resigned

RUSSELL, John→

director · ~89y · appointed 2004-05-26 · resigned 2013-09-30

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-05-26 · resigned 2004-05-26

Resigned

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