FREELANCE ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC272500 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-26
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 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
66 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
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 accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-04-05 | 2024-04-05 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1 | 0 |
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-08-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-08-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2007-11-20➕COLL, Maria appointedsecretary
- 2007-11-20➖FREELANCE EURO CONTRACTING LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-08-26🏢Company incorporatedAs FREELANCE ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED
- 2004-08-26➕COLL, Patrick Francis appointeddirector
- 2004-08-26➕FREELANCE EURO CONTRACTING LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-08-26➕ROBERTSON, Alexander George appointednominee-director
- 2004-08-26➖ROBERTSON, Alexander George resignednominee-director
Owner dependency
85/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Maria Coll Individual · British · DOB 04/1970 · age 56 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 01/07/2016 |
Mr Patrick Francis Coll Individual · British · DOB 04/1970 · age 56 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOHNSTON PIPE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC585879 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| JRG PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY LTD.→ SC266797 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| KDO SUBSEA LTD→ SC447804 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| KH ENERGY LTD→ SC853910 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| KINETIC DISCOVERY LIMITED→ SC350235 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| LAKE.TECH SERVICES LIMITED→ SC848002 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LIGHTBULB PERFORMANCE COACHING LIMITED→ SC642429 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| LITTLE VOICE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED→ SC281581 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| LSIP LIMITED→ SC446041 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| M2B ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC457434 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| MACARTHUR DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ SC668881 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| MACHARDY LAW LIMITED→ SC423259 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-08-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
Stannergate House 41 Dundee Road West
Broughty Ferry
Dundee
DD5 1NB
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-05
Last made up to: 2025-04-05
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-09
Last: 2025-08-26
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
COLL, Patrick Francis→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2004-08-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FREELANCE EURO CONTRACTING LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-26 · resigned 2007-11-20
ROBERTSON, Alexander George→
Resignednominee-director · ~74y · appointed 2004-08-26 · resigned 2004-08-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (66 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-20