ORCADES LIMITED

🚨Distressedactive
SC325937 · ltd · incorporated 2007-06-20
Investment thesis
Distressed but structurally messy — likely a value trap without major surgery.
Why interesting: Headline may look cheap; sector may be recovering.
Why risky: Critical deal-killers in ownership or security; closing cost and post-deal clean-up likely to dominate.
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Jun 2024
Net worth
£-3.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
65/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 65/100 (strong), bankability 55/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100). Current lenders should be on monthly review.

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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
65/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
55
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £3,465
High leverage
Liabilities are 100% of total assets
Net assets shrinking
Down £35,521 YoY
Leverage
100%
Liabilities / Total assets

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£3k
↓ 111% YoY
Current Assets
£10k
↓ 81% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£3k£8k£20k£32k£44k£56kJun 2023Jun 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-06-302023-06-30
Total assets£10.9k£56.9k
Current assets£10.4k£55.8k
Net assets£-3.5k£32.1k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2024-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2017-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-07-06
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  10. 2016-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-06-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2016-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-06-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-08-13
    📄
    capital-alter-shares-subdivision
    capital · SH02
  16. 2014-06-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2007-06-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ORCADES LIMITED
  18. 2007-06-20
    BREWER, Louise appointed
    secretary
  19. 2007-06-20
    MOWAT, Paul Gregory appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 19 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
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 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-31

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Paul Gregory Mowat
Individual · British · DOB 04/1973 · age 53
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

10 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
Incorporated2007-06-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

15a Harbour Road
Inverness
IV1 1SY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-03-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-04
Last: 2025-06-20

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

BREWER, Louise
secretary · appointed 2007-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOWAT, Paul Gregory
director · ~53y · appointed 2007-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (42 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-06-26