DAVIDSON THORBURN CONSULTING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC334834 · ltd · incorporated 2007-12-04
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 material changes in the last 90 days.

Last 180 days

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

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£7.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 9.0y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 9.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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, 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
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
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £7,493
Net assets shrinking
Down £14,707 YoY
Cash YoY
-28%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£21k
↓ 28% YoY
Net Worth
£7k
↓ 66% YoY
Current Assets
£22k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£8k£15k£23k£30k£38kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£7.8k£22.5k
Current assets£21.8k£37.5k
Cash£21.3k£29.5k
Debtors£515£547
Net assets£7.5k£22.2k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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. 2025-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2022-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-08-22
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  7. 2021-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-11-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2017-11-08
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  13. 2017-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-07-17
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  15. 2017-07-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  16. 2016-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2007-12-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DAVIDSON THORBURN CONSULTING LIMITED
  18. 2007-12-04
    ➕
    THORBURN, James Stewart appointed
    secretary
  19. 2007-12-04
    ➕
    THORBURN, Davidson appointed
    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 "THORBURN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +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

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 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 Davidson Thorburn
Individual · British · DOB 08/1971 · age 55
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
Incorporated2007-12-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

11 Castleview Gardens
Lochmaben
Lockerbie
Dumfriesshire
DG11 1ND

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-18
Last: 2025-12-04

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

THORBURN, James Stewart→
secretary · appointed 2007-12-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THORBURN, Davidson→
director · ~55y · appointed 2007-12-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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
Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—12/07/2017—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (44 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-30
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-10