NESS BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC329252 · ltd · incorporated 2007-08-14
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£-14.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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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 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. 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).

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
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £14,685
Net assets shrinking
Down £17,977 YoY
Cash YoY
+36%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£3k
↑ 36% YoY
Net Worth
-£15k
↓ 546% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↑ 36% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£15k-£11k-£7k-£4k-£303£3kAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£-14.7k£3.3k
Current assets£3.1k£2.3k
Cash£3.1k£2.3k
Debtors£0£0
Net assets£-14.7k£3.3k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-09-25
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  9. 2019-09-15
    ➖
    DUNCAN, Louise Anne resigned
    secretary
  10. 2018-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-01-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-08-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-08-15
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2007-08-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As NESS BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
  18. 2007-08-14
    ➕
    DUNCAN, Hamish Kerr appointed
    director
  19. 2007-08-14
    ➕
    DUNCAN, Louise Anne appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-08-14
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2007-08-14
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2007-08-14
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-director
  23. 2007-08-14
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
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.
  • 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.
  • 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 Hamish Kerr Duncan
Individual · British · DOB 10/1967 · age 59
75–100%
—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

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 →
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Available from the Pro tier upwards.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2007-08-14
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

25 Drummond Road
Inverness
IV2 4NF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

DUNCAN, Hamish Kerr→
director · ~59y · appointed 2007-08-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNCAN, Louise Anne→
secretary · appointed 2007-08-14 · resigned 2019-09-15
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2007-08-14 · resigned 2007-08-14
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-director · appointed 2007-08-14 · resigned 2007-08-14
Resigned

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

Recent filings (44 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-11-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-13
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2019-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-14