DOUGLAS J. MARTIN & CO. (SCOTLAND) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC297521 · ltd · incorporated 2006-02-21

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 Jul 2025

Net worth

£35.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 18.0y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 18.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (84/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 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

53 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £35,058

Net assets shrinking

Down £259 YoY

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£35k

~ YoY

Current Assets

£35k

~ YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-07-31	2024-07-31	2023-07-31
Total assets	£35.1k	£35.3k	£35.6k
Current assets	£35.1k	£35.3k	£35.7k
Net assets	£35.1k	£35.3k	£35.6k

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 accounts

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2026-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-04-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-04-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-04-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-03
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-04-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-05-28
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2008-04-28
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2007-02-20
➕
ROBERTSON, Sheila Ann appointed
secretary
2007-02-20
➕
MARTIN, Douglas John appointed
director
2006-02-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As DOUGLAS J. MARTIN & CO. (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
2006-02-21
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2006-02-21
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2006-02-21
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2006-02-21
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT 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 "MARTIN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Douglas John Martin Individual · Scottish · DOB 10/1956 · age 70	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · DD postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
FLINTSTONE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED→ SC419975 · est 2012	£8.97M £6.61M–£11.33M	—	—	14	14y	83	66y
MARTIN ALAN HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC308225 · est 2006	£1.97M £1.45M–£2.49M	—	—	53	19y	88	69y
JTC FURNITURE GROUP LIMITED→ SC368612 · est 2009	£753.7k £555.4k–£952.0k	—	—	4	16y	82	64y
THE INSIGHTS GROUP LIMITED→ SC166543 · est 1996 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	83	86y
AEMS LIMITED→ SC329130 · est 2007	—	—	—	—	18y	82	69y
ATELIER-M LIMITED→ SC289842 · est 2005	—	—	—	300	20y	82	61y
BELLSHELF (NINETY EIGHT) LIMITED→ SC396803 · est 2011	—	—	£37.2k	—	15y	82	64y
BELLSHELF (NINETY SEVEN) LIMITED→ SC271323 · est 2004	—	—	£370.1k	—	21y	82	64y
DEEP TEK LIMITED→ SC191642 · est 1998	—	—	—	200	27y	82	68y
EVOTEK LIMITED→ SC270149 · est 2004	—	—	—	100	21y	82	59y
HIGHLAND FOOD GROUP LIMITED→ SC277996 · est 2005	—	—	—	98	21y	82	55y
J & A WORKSPACE LIMITED→ SC257663 · est 2003	—	—	£101.5k	—	22y	82	75y

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2006-02-21

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

40/42 Brantwood Avenue

Dundee

Tayside

DD3 6EW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-07

Last: 2026-02-21

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

ROBERTSON, Sheila Ann→

secretary · appointed 2007-02-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MARTIN, Douglas John→

director · ~70y · appointed 2007-02-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-02-21 · resigned 2006-02-21

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-02-21 · resigned 2006-02-21

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Bond & floating charge	1 property	28/04/2008	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.