MCLEOD & AITKEN EDINBURGH LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC269058 · ltd · incorporated 2004-06-10
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
£357.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Quantity surveying activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). 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 (77/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
58 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £357,298
Cash YoY
+26%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£481k
↑ 26% YoY
Net Worth
£357k
↑ 37% YoY
Current Assets
£486k
↑ 25% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£97k£194k£291k£388k£486kJul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Total assets£357.3k£260.8k
Current assets£485.6k£387.7k
Cash£480.9k£381.4k
Debtors£4.7k£6.3k
Net assets£357.3k£260.8k

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-04-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-18
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2022-04-22
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2021-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-06-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2016-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-06-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-06-15
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2004-06-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MCLEOD & AITKEN EDINBURGH LTD.
  18. 2004-06-10
    ➕
    MASTERMAN, Eileen Mary appointed
    secretary
  19. 2004-06-10
    ➕
    FIDDES, Norman Alexander appointed
    director
  20. 2004-06-10
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2004-06-10
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2004-06-10
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2004-06-10
    ➖
    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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Norman Alexander Fiddes
Individual · British · DOB 07/1953 · age 73
75–100%
—75-100% shares10/06/2017

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · EH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES EDINBURGH LIMITED→
SC091725 · est 1985
£131.60M
£96.97M–£166.24M
£135.39M—13590041y8567y
ROBERTSON EDUCATION (ABERDEENSHIRE) HOLDINGS LIMITED→
SC209010 · est 2000
£5.47M
£4.03M–£6.91M
——025y8560y
DSF (2003) LIMITED→
SC144009 · est 1993
£4.70M
£3.46M–£5.93M
——733y8761y
FCC (EAST AYRSHIRE) HOLDINGS LIMITED→
SC300470 · est 2006
£3.99M
£2.94M–£5.03M
——020y8760y
BLYTH & BLYTH CONSULTING ENGINEERS LIMITED→
SC241155 · est 2002
£2.78M
£2.05M–£3.52M
——9323y8785y
SIBCAS LIMITED→
SC052604 · est 1973
£1.88M
£1.39M–£2.38M
——16553y8868y
HORIZON (GP) LIMITED→
SC493523 · est 2014
£45.2k
£33.3k–£57.1k
——611y9566y
BURNDENE INVESTMENTS LIMITED→
SC015613 · est 1929
£14.3k
£10.5k–£18.0k
——096y8363y
3 ED HOLDINGS 2 LIMITED→
SC328040 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y8365y
ABACUS FINANCIAL MARKETING LIMITED→
SC197503 · est 1999
——£3.4k—26y8359y
ACCOUNTING & TAXATION SERVICE LTD→
SC360357 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————16y8358y
BRINDLEY ASSOCIATES LIMITED→
SC290803 · est 2005
———130020y8359y
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
Incorporated2004-06-10
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74902 — Quantity surveying activities

Registered office

14 Young Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4JB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-29
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-25
Last: 2025-06-11

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MASTERMAN, Eileen Mary→
secretary · appointed 2004-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FIDDES, Norman Alexander→
director · ~73y · appointed 2004-06-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-06-10 · resigned 2004-06-10
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-06-10 · resigned 2004-06-10
Resigned

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

Recent filings (58 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-22
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-14
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-12