TRAVEL D.S. LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC301711 · ltd · incorporated 2006-05-04
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£-31.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Travel agency activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -77% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 19.9y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
61 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 · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £31,720
Cash draining
Cash down 77% YoY
Cash YoY
-77%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£758
↓ 77% YoY
Net Worth
-£32k
↓ 36% YoY
Current Assets
£6k
↑ 17% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£32k-£24k-£17k-£9k-£2k£6kAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£17.6k£17.1k
Current assets£6.0k£5.1k
Cash£758£3.2k
Debtors£5.2k£1.8k
Net assets£-31.7k£-23.3k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-20
    ➖
    MCSWAN, John Mcnaughton resigned
    secretary
  4. 2024-09-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2024-09-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2024-09-20
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  7. 2024-09-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2024-09-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2024-02-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2024-01-12
    ➖
    MCSWAN, Sharon resigned
    director
  11. 2024-01-12
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2024-01-05
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2006-08-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2006-05-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As TRAVEL D.S. LTD
  21. 2006-05-04
    ➕
    MCSWAN, Roderick appointed
    director
  22. 2006-05-04
    ➕
    MCSWAN, John Mcnaughton appointed
    secretary
  23. 2006-05-04
    ➕
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2006-05-04
    ➖
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2006-05-04
    ➕
    MCSWAN, Sharon appointed
    director
  26. 2006-05-04
    ➕
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2006-05-04
    ➖
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR 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 60 — 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 60. 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Derek Mcswan
Individual · British · DOB 02/1966 · age 60
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
BIGGAR MUSEUM TRUST→
SC398044 · est 2011
——£2.14M—15y8377y
THE BIGGAR ALBION FOUNDATION LIMITED→
SC214838 · est 2001
——£462.7k—25y8370y
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL LIMITED→
SC167752 · est 1996
——£234.5k—29y8271y
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——£346.2k—21y8267y
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——£431.8k—15y8263y
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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
Incorporated2006-05-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC79110 — Travel agency activities

Registered office

25 Glenfinnan Wynd
Hamilton
ML3 8QS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-07
Last: 2026-04-23

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

MCSWAN, Roderick→
director · ~60y · appointed 2006-05-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCSWAN, John Mcnaughton→
secretary · appointed 2006-05-04 · resigned 2024-09-20
Resigned
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-05-04 · resigned 2006-05-04
Resigned
MCSWAN, Sharon→
director · ~58y · appointed 2006-05-04 · resigned 2024-01-12
Resigned
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-05-04 · resigned 2006-05-04
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property09/08/2006—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (61 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-09-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-09-20
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-09-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-09-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-01-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15