BLACKAD LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC304330 · ltd · incorporated 2006-06-21
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£118.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Advertising agencies
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle 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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £118,483
Net assets shrinking
Down £22,812 YoY
Cash YoY
+71%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£98k
↑ 71% YoY
Net Worth
£118k
↓ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£184k
↓ 26% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£49k£99k£148k£197k£247kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£119.9k£143.2k
Current assets£183.6k£246.8k
Cash£98.0k£57.4k
Debtors£85.6k£189.4k
Net assets£118.5k£141.3k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-11-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2022-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-06-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2021-05-05
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2020-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-11-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2020-11-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2019-11-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-06-29
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2016-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2008-10-05
    ➖
    BLACK, Jannette Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  18. 2006-06-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLACKAD LTD.
  19. 2006-06-21
    ➕
    BLACK, Alan John appointed
    director
  20. 2006-06-21
    ➕
    BLACK, Jannette Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  21. 2006-06-21
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2006-06-21
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2006-06-21
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2006-06-21
    ➖
    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 "BLACK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 20 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alan John Black
Individual · British · DOB 08/1972 · age 54
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2006-06-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC73110 — Advertising agencies

Registered office

22 Montrose Street
Glasgow
G1 1RE
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-05
Last: 2025-06-21

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

BLACK, Alan John→
director · ~54y · appointed 2006-06-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLACK, Jannette Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2006-06-21 · resigned 2008-10-05
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-06-21 · resigned 2006-06-21
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-06-21 · resigned 2006-06-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (60 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-06-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-11-20