GOOD NEWS (COWDENBEATH) LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC275014 · ltd · incorporated 2004-10-21
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 2025
Net worth
£979.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
56 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £979,030
Cash YoY
+76%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£141k
↑ 76% YoY
Net Worth
£979k
↑ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£248k
↑ 36% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £992.0k | £889.2k |
| Current assets | £247.5k | £182.0k |
| Cash | £140.6k | £79.7k |
| Debtors | £85.4k | £80.0k |
| Net assets | £979.0k | £888.1k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-04-01📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-04-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-04-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-03-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-14📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2017-02-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2004-10-21🏢Company incorporatedAs GOOD NEWS (COWDENBEATH) LTD.
- 2004-10-21➕IDREES, Salma appointedsecretary
- 2004-10-21➕IDREES, Mohammed appointeddirector
- 2004-10-21➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-10-21➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-10-21➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2004-10-21➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Mohammed Idrees Individual · British · DOB 12/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Salma Idrees Individual · British · DOB 11/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Retail · KY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GANESH MOBILE PHONES TRADERS LIMITED→ SC817000 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND HALAL SHOP LTD→ SC862629 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| INKINDA LTD→ SC699904 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| J CULLEN ONLINE LIMITED→ SC842221 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| JOHNSTON AND JOHNSTON FIFE LIMITED→ SC402525 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| JONES MEDIA VENTURES LTD→ SC765652 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| KI CONTRACTS LIMITED→ SC356562 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| KITCHENS INTERNATIONAL ABERDEEN LIMITED→ SC356564 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| LINDSEY ADAM LIMITED→ SC121275 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| LINKS LICENSED GROCERS LTD.→ SC327527 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| LOMOND BICYCLE SERVICES LIMITED→ SC639839 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| LUNDIN PRO SHOP LTD→ SC417171 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-10-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Registered office
101 Broad Street
Cowdenbeath
Fife
KY4 8JR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-04
Last: 2025-10-21
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
IDREES, Mohammed→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2004-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-10-21 · resigned 2004-10-21
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-10-21 · resigned 2004-10-21
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (56 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2019-04-01