CORE ARCHITECTS LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC344714 · ltd · incorporated 2008-06-23

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

£-4.0k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Architectural activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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

4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

49 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

Negative net assets

Liabilities exceed assets by £4,042

Cash YoY

+0%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£539

~ YoY

Net Worth

-£4k

↓ 7.8% 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	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£-4.0k	£-3.8k
Cash	£539	£539
Net assets	£-4.0k	£-3.8k

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

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2025-12-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-12-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-11-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-07-04
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-03-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-12-21
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2016-06-24
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-11-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-06-23
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2010-10-06
➖
BEATY-POWNALL, Karen resigned
secretary
2010-10-06
➖
BEATY-POWNALL, Karen resigned
director
2008-06-23
🏢
Company incorporated
As CORE ARCHITECTS LTD
2008-06-23
➕
MASON, David appointed
director
2008-06-23
➕
BEATY-POWNALL, Karen appointed
secretary
2008-06-23
➕
BEATY-POWNALL, Karen appointed
director
2008-06-23
➕
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2008-06-23
➖
DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED resigned
corporate-director

Owner dependency

93/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 64. 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 David Mason Individual · British · DOB 09/1962 · age 64	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · firm interest	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

Active · Professional services · G postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
COOGAN ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ SC423823 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
COORIE ARCHITECT STUDIO LTD→ SC874174 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
CORAL HOUSE SERVICES LIMITED→ SC371114 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
CORETECH CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ SC441676 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
CORONADO ADVISERS LIMITED→ SC659156 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
CORPORATE CONNECTIONS INTERNATIONAL LTD.→ SC371303 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
CORRIES SOLICITORS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC299991 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
COUNT TAX LTD→ SC824525 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CPOWER ALBA LTD→ SC567057 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
CRAEL LIMITED→ SC787272 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
CRAIG FINDLAY LTD→ SC523224 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
CRAIG HEPPLEWHITE - PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ SC841952 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—

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

Incorporated2008-06-23

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities

Registered office

25 Sandyford Place

Sauchiehall Street

Glasgow

G3 7NG

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-30

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-07

Last: 2025-06-23

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

MASON, David→

director · ~64y · appointed 2008-06-23

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BEATY-POWNALL, Karen→

secretary · appointed 2008-06-23 · resigned 2010-10-06

Resigned

BEATY-POWNALL, Karen→

director · ~63y · appointed 2008-06-23 · resigned 2010-10-06

Resigned

DUPORT DIRECTOR LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2008-06-23 · resigned 2008-06-23

Resigned

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