HERITAGE AND DESIGN LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC280108 · 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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Feb 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Architectural activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (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 (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, 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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
57 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
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 | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|
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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-22📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-04-22📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2021-04-10➕DURIE, Alison appointedsecretary
- 2021-04-10➖DURIE, Alison Stephanie Ann resigneddirector
- 2020-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-11-07📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-10-29➖DURIE, Alison Stephanie Ann resignedsecretary
- 2019-10-29➕DURIE, Alison Stephanie Ann appointeddirector
- 2019-10-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-10-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-10-29📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2019-10-29📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2014-11-11➕DURIE, John appointeddirector
- 2014-11-11➖ENGLISH, Stephanie Kate resigneddirector
- 2011-07-09➖DURIE, John resigneddirector
- 2011-07-09➕ENGLISH, Stephanie Kate appointeddirector
- 2005-02-16🏢Company incorporatedAs HERITAGE AND DESIGN LIMITED
- 2005-02-16➕DURIE, Alison Stephanie Ann appointedsecretary
- 2005-02-16➕DURIE, John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
70/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Durie Individual · British · DOB 03/1966 · age 60 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Alison Stephanie Ann Durie Individual · British · DOB 07/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 04/11/2019 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| LM CONSULTANCY SCOTLAND LTD→ SC638333 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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| M55 MANAGEMENT LTD→ SC461147 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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| MACDONALD PARTNERSHIPS (AYR) LIMITED→ SC429239 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2005-02-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities
Registered office
24 York Street
Ayr
KA8 8AZ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-30
Last: 2025-05-16
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
Active
DURIE, Alison Stephanie Ann→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-02-16 · resigned 2019-10-29
DURIE, Alison Stephanie Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~60y · appointed 2019-10-29 · resigned 2021-04-10
DURIE, John→
Resigneddirector · ~60y · appointed 2005-02-16 · resigned 2011-07-09
ENGLISH, Stephanie Kate→
Resigneddirector · ~43y · appointed 2011-07-09 · resigned 2014-11-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (57 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-04-22
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2021-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-11-07