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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£7.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong 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 8.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 8.8 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 declaredPositive 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 accountsCash
£21k
↓ 28% YoY
Net Worth
£7k
↓ 66% YoY
Current Assets
£22k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| 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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-22📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-11-08📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-17📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-07-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2016-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2007-12-04🏢Company incorporatedAs DAVIDSON THORBURN CONSULTING LIMITED
- 2007-12-04➕THORBURN, James Stewart appointedsecretary
- 2007-12-04➕THORBURN, Davidson appointeddirector
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.
- +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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 18 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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 18 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Davidson Thorburn Individual · British · DOB 08/1971 · age 55 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEVORGILLA PROJECTS LIMITED→ SC692965 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| EASY READ FOR YOU CIC→ SC764647 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| G HENDERSON ENGINEERING LTD→ SC849448 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GF1 INVESTMENTS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC595513 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| J B R PROJECTS LTD→ SC468748 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| JAMES BELL ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC656569 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| KC INVESCO LIMITED→ SC641680 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| KILCO HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC511356 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| L.CLARK ENGINEERING LTD→ SC880805 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LB ACCOUNTANCY LIMITED→ SC626271 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| LLM PROPERTY & RENTALS LTD→ SC705627 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| LOCHSIDE PRODUCTIONS UK LTD→ SC861136 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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→
Activesecretary · appointed 2007-12-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THORBURN, Davidson→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2007-12-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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