CHAMELEON MEDIA LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC288632 · ltd · incorporated 2005-08-09
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£-4.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Artistic creation
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 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 · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £4,486
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£4k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↑ 42250% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-4.5k | £-5.1k |
| Current assets | £3.4k | £8 |
| Cash | — | £8 |
| Net assets | £-4.5k | £-5.1k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 address
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-10-28➖MENZIES, Gordon resignedsecretary
- 2025-10-28📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2008-02-15➕MENZIES, Gordon appointedsecretary
- 2008-02-11➖SORBIE, Mary resignedsecretary
- 2005-08-09🏢Company incorporatedAs CHAMELEON MEDIA LTD
- 2005-08-09➕NICOLSON, Fiona appointeddirector
- 2005-08-09➕SORBIE, Mary appointedsecretary
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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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
cleanNo 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fiona Nicolson Individual · British · DOB 05/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Leisure & entertainment · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CINEMAATTIC PRODUCTIONS CIC→ SC464771 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CLAIRE ADAMS TOTAL HEALTH LTD→ SC589897 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CLYDE VALLEY FAMILY PARK LIMITED→ SC585966 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CMC ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC291114 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| COLIN FAIRWEATHER GOLF LTD→ SC466575 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CONS-ED LTD→ SC803030 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CORATA GROUP LTD→ SC795195 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CORSTORPHINE SNOOKER COMPANY LIMITED→ SC094559 · est 1985 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 40y | — | — |
| CORYLUS CIC→ SC599459 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| CRAIG HOWIE GOLF LIMITED→ SC678608 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CRICKET SCOTLAND COUNCIL LIMITED→ SC390910 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CRICKET SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC211761 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-08-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC90030 — Artistic creation
Registered office
3 Hill Street Third Floor
3 Hill Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3JP
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-23
Last: 2025-08-09
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
NICOLSON, Fiona→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2005-08-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MENZIES, Gordon→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2008-02-15 · resigned 2025-10-28
SORBIE, Mary→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-08-09 · resigned 2008-02-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-11-11
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-03-23