DAVID KELLY DESIGN OFFICE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC283196 · ltd · incorporated 2005-04-13

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

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What this business does

Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities

Sector: Information & communication

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

62030Computer facilities management activities
62090Other information technology service activities

Investor take

Pursue

Strong 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).

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, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

3 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

51 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

75/100Strong

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	2025-04-30	2024-04-30
Average employees	300	300

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2026-01-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-01-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-01-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-04-25
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-05-12
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-05-27
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2010-04-13
➕
NARPLAN ACCOUNTING SERVICES appointed
corporate-secretary
2010-04-13
➖
MCGUIGAN, Edward Brian resigned
secretary
2005-04-13
🏢
Company incorporated
As DAVID KELLY DESIGN OFFICE LIMITED
2005-04-13
➕
KELLY, David James appointed
director
2005-04-13
➕
MCGUIGAN, Edward Brian appointed
secretary
2005-04-13
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2005-04-13
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2005-04-13
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2005-04-13
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2005-04-13
➕
PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2005-04-13
➖
PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES 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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "KELLY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong 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 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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

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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David James Kelly Individual · British · DOB 11/1976 · age 50	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	13/04/2017

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 →

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SILENT RADIO LTD→ SC862086 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
SMB CONSULANTS LTD→ SC838848 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
SMILLIE INC LIMITED→ SC369077 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
SOFTTECH TECHNO LTD→ SC444123 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
SOFTWORX LIMITED→ SC553664 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
SOFTWORX SERVICES LIMITED→ SC715218 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
SOLID MEDIA (UK) LTD→ SC424655 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
SOLIS & SOLIS LTD→ SC653313 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
SOLISE CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC842693 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—

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

Incorporated2005-04-13

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities

Registered office

Narplan House

63 Main Street

Rutherglen

Glasgow

G73 2JH

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-27

Last: 2026-04-13

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

NARPLAN ACCOUNTING SERVICES→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2010-04-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

KELLY, David James→

director · ~50y · appointed 2005-04-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCGUIGAN, Edward Brian→

secretary · appointed 2005-04-13 · resigned 2010-04-13

Resigned

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-04-13 · resigned 2005-04-13

Resigned

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-04-13 · resigned 2005-04-13

Resigned

PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-04-13 · resigned 2005-04-13

Resigned

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