CLYDE MOTOR ENGINEERS LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC294487 · ltd · incorporated 2005-12-14
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£707.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 12.2y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 12.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
58 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £707,263
Cash YoY
+26%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£679k
↑ 26% YoY
Net Worth
£707k
↑ 17% YoY
Current Assets
£843k
↑ 22% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£169k£337k£506k£674k£843kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£740.6k£640.6k
Current assets£843.0k£693.5k
Cash£678.5k£537.4k
Debtors£28.1k£23.1k
Net assets£707.3k£601.9k

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 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  2. 2026-01-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2025-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-08-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-02-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  10. 2020-02-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  11. 2019-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-06-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2018-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-12-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2017-12-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2017-12-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  17. 2017-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2014-02-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  19. 2012-04-23
    ➖
    MCLEAN, Angus James resigned
    secretary
  20. 2012-04-23
    ➖
    MCLEAN, Angus James resigned
    director
  21. 2010-10-01
    ➕
    MCLEAN, Angus James appointed
    director
  22. 2005-12-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CLYDE MOTOR ENGINEERS LTD.
  23. 2005-12-14
    ➕
    CULLEN, Christopher Mark appointed
    director
  24. 2005-12-14
    ➕
    MCLEAN, Angus James appointed
    secretary
  25. 2005-12-14
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2005-12-14
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2005-12-14
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2005-12-14
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 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 candidate

Strong 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 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Christopher Mark Cullen
Individual · British · DOB 05/1967 · age 59
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Chris Cullenceased 06/04/2016· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2005-12-14
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

21 Forbes Place
Paisley
PA1 1UT
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-28
Last: 2025-12-14

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

CULLEN, Christopher Mark→
director · ~59y · appointed 2005-12-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCLEAN, Angus James→
secretary · appointed 2005-12-14 · resigned 2012-04-23
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-12-14 · resigned 2005-12-14
Resigned
MCLEAN, Angus James→
director · ~67y · appointed 2010-10-01 · resigned 2012-04-23
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-12-14 · resigned 2005-12-14
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property17/02/201421/02/2020

Recent filings (58 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-16
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-02-21