RURAL DESIGN LTD.

💤Zombieactive

SC280072 · ltd · incorporated 2005-02-16

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 · high confidence

Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.

· Lifecycle stage: mature → zombie
· Investment thesis: well_run_hard_buy → zombie_hold
· Deal-killer verdict: clean → complicated
· Hygiene score: 90 → 80

Opportunity decay

drifting distress · 6-months

Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.

· Lifecycle stage drifting downward
· Currently "zombie"

What changed my view

Last 30 days

Mixed signals in the last 30 days — 2 improved, 4 worsened.

↓Lifecycle stage: mature → zombie
·Investment thesis: well_run_hard_buy → zombie_hold
↓Deal-killer verdict: clean → complicated
↓Hygiene score: 90 → 80
↑Live charges: 3 → 0
+3 more

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

70/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Architectural activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 70/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (47/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

No charge records returned

Directors & officers

No officers data

Ownership & PSC

No PSC data returned

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

No filing history

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

70/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

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 · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	—	£366.2k
Current assets	—	£164.5k
Cash	—	£3.1k
Debtors	—	£101.3k
Net assets	—	£358.9k
Average employees	1000	—

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Corporate timeline (1 events)Click to expand

2005-02-16
🏢
Company incorporated
As RURAL DESIGN LTD.

Owner dependency

55/100

Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS

+No director turnover: Company is 21 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

30/100

Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

Red flags

clean

No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · IV postcode area

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CMM ACCOUNTANCY (INVERNESS) LIMITED→ SC279223 · est 2005	—	—	—	—	21y	83	58y
COPERNICUS TECHNOLOGY LTD→ SC350102 · est 2008	—	—	£373.8k	—	17y	83	62y
SELF STORAGE - 4 U LIMITED→ SC261522 · est 2004	—	—	—	9	22y	83	82y
ACSMID (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC177791 · est 1997	—	—	£41.8k	—	28y	82	71y
ANSER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC246199 · est 2003	—	—	£56.4k	—	23y	82	62y
BAYHANARTS LIMITED→ SC097397 · est 1986	—	—	—	0	40y	82	84y
CALEDONIAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ SC193616 · est 1999	—	—	£22.4k	—	27y	82	64y
COLIN ARMSTRONG ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC259880 · est 2003	—	—	£1.64M	—	22y	82	67y
ECHOMASTER MARINE LIMITED→ SC286015 · est 2005	—	—	—	11	21y	82	80y
F.M.S. VEHICLE RENTAL LIMITED→ SC283861 · est 2005	—	—	—	0	21y	82	64y
HIGHLAND AQUA TEAM LTD→ SC390606 · est 2010	—	—	—	1100	15y	82	65y
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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.

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🔒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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2005-02-16

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities

Registered office

Mill Studio

Struan Road

Portree

Highland

IV51 9EG

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-02

Last: 2026-02-16