CAMPBELL DESIGN LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC343049 · ltd · incorporated 2008-05-20
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 May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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).
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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
50 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-07-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-06📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-06-01➖COMPANY ADVISORY SERVICES LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2022-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-30📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2020-01-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-04📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-10-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-10-04📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2010-04-28➕COMPANY ADVISORY SERVICES LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2008-05-20🏢Company incorporatedAs CAMPBELL DESIGN LTD
- 2008-05-20➕CAMPBELL, Richard appointedsecretary
- 2008-05-20➕CAMPBELL, Richard 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 "CAMPBELL" — 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.
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
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Richard Campbell Individual · British · DOB 06/1983 · age 43 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 20/05/2017 |
Mrs Sherry Campbell Individual · British · DOB 08/1980 · age 46 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/10/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · KA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLK FINANCE LIMITED→ SC533592 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CLOUD ACCOUNTING (AYRSHIRE) LTD.→ SC343761 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| COCHRANE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES LTD→ SC716261 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| COLEEN MCKAY LIMITED→ SC727300 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CONSULT55 LIMITED→ SC722855 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CRAIGMINNAN LTD→ SC541635 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CTJ SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC850808 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CW RIBBECK ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD→ SC698388 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CYCLERATE LIMITED→ SC334375 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| DALES RESOURCES LIMITED→ SC489961 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| DALES TRUSTEES LIMITED→ SC787455 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DAVANAL LIMITED→ SC727570 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-05-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
7 Penkill Road
Kilmarnock
East Ayrshire
KA3 6NH
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-20
Last: 2025-10-06
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Active
CAMPBELL, Richard→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2008-05-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COMPANY ADVISORY SERVICES LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2010-04-28 · resigned 2023-06-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (50 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-07-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-06
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-29