D M E ASSOCIATES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC331919 · ltd · incorporated 2007-10-04
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2024
Net worth
£330.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other accommodation
Sector: Accommodation & food service
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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 (77/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
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
49 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £330,105
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£330k
↑ 7.0% YoY
Current Assets
£151k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £330.3k | £308.5k |
| Current assets | £151.5k | £136.4k |
| Net assets | £330.1k | £308.5k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-01-11📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-01-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-26📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2009-02-18➖GB COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVS LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2007-10-04🏢Company incorporatedAs D M E ASSOCIATES LIMITED
- 2007-10-04➕PURVES, Helen appointedsecretary
- 2007-10-04➕ELLIS, David Mcdonald appointeddirector
- 2007-10-04➕GB COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVS LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Mcdonald Ellis Individual · British · DOB 06/1959 · age 67 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 04/10/2016 |
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 · Hospitality · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOOD GET GO LIMITED→ SC649191 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| FOODLOVERS MARKET LTD.→ SC516888 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| FOODSAVERS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC868278 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FOOTLIGHTS EDINBURGH LTD→ SC486062 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| FORREST ROAD FOODS LTD→ SC862200 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FORRESTERS LOANHEAD LIMITED→ SC792976 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| FORTH VALLEY INNS LTD→ SC658365 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| FORTUNE IN LTD→ SC875353 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FORTUNE PALACE EDINBURGH LTD→ SC647484 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| FORTUNE WELL LTD→ SC882863 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FOUR SEASONS PALACE LIMITED→ SC686728 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| FOX & CO CATERERS LTD→ SC635616 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2007-10-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC55900 — Other accommodation
Registered office
76b Great King Street
Edinburgh
Midlothian
EH3 6QU
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-18
Last: 2025-10-04
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Active
ELLIS, David Mcdonald→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2007-10-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GB COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVS LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2007-10-04 · resigned 2009-02-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (49 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-10-05