ALLAN BUTLER CREATIVE DESIGN LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC344616 · ltd · incorporated 2008-06-19

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 Jun 2025

Net worth

£3.2k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Specialised design activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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 (78/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

40 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £3,157

Cash YoY

+168%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£9k

↑ 168% YoY

Net Worth

£3k

↑ 448% YoY

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-06-30	2024-06-30
Total assets	£3.2k	£-906
Cash	£8.8k	£3.3k
Net assets	£3.2k	£-906

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-03-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-06
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accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-02-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-03-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-07-03
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-01-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-06-30
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2010-06-22
➖
BUTLER, Allan resigned
secretary
2008-10-27
➕
BUTLER, Allan appointed
director
2008-10-27
➕
BUTLER, Allan appointed
secretary
2008-06-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As ALLAN BUTLER CREATIVE DESIGN LTD
2008-06-19
➕
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2008-06-19
➖
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED resigned
corporate-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 "BUTLER" — 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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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 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

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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Allan Butler Individual · British · DOB 08/1957 · age 69	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

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

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ISOCON ENERGY LTD→ SC444607 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
J. WATSON SCOTT & CO LTD→ SC526668 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
JARL CONSULTING LTD→ SC420888 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
JGS ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED→ SC432888 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
KILBARCHAN (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC339331 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
L & R MCIVOR LIMITED→ SC755110 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
L SWEENEY LTD.→ SC322262 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
LANARKSHIRE ACCIDENT LAW (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC724441 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
LES GRAY SERVICES LTD→ SC415711 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
LETS PAR-TEE SCOTLAND LTD→ SC794343 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
LIBRATUM ACCOUNTANCY LTD→ SC703188 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—

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

Incorporated2008-06-19

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

8 Douglas Street

Hamilton

Lanarkshire

ML3 0BP

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-03-31

Last made up to: 2025-06-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-07

Last: 2025-06-23

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

BUTLER, Allan→

director · ~69y · appointed 2008-10-27

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BUTLER, Allan→

secretary · appointed 2008-10-27 · resigned 2010-06-22

Resigned

DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2008-06-19 · resigned 2008-06-19

Resigned

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