DUNSELMA COUNTRY ESTATE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC346744 · ltd · incorporated 2008-08-07
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), 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 (75/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-242024-08-31

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

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-01-20
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  4. 2024-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-03-26
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2020-03-26
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  11. 2020-03-26
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2020-03-26
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2019-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-04-24
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  15. 2018-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2008-08-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DUNSELMA COUNTRY ESTATE LIMITED
  18. 2008-08-07
    ➕
    DALRYMPLE, Niel Scott appointed
    secretary
  19. 2008-08-07
    ➕
    KENNEDY, Melina Suzanne appointed
    director
  20. 2008-08-07
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2008-08-07
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2008-08-07
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-director
  23. 2008-08-07
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. 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

1 med ·
Name changed recently
medium

Name changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.

Evidence: 2025-01-20: certificate-change-of-name-company

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Niel Scott Dalrymple
Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63
25–50%
—25-50% shares07/08/2016
Ms Melina Suzanne Kennedy
Individual · American · DOB 04/1962 · age 64
25–50%
—25-50% shares07/08/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Niel Scott Dalrympleceased 26/03/2020· 25-50% shares

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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LOCH EARN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD→
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——£17.6k—91y8369y
STRUTHERS MEMORIAL CHURCH→
SC335480 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y8366y
AN TAIRBEART LIMITED→
SC139476 · est 1992
——£946.0k—33y8294y
CHURCHILL (SCOTLAND) PROPERTIES LIMITED→
SC202429 · est 1999
——£5.1k—26y8274y
SPEY BAY TRADING COMPANY LTD.→
SC180155 · est 1997
——£5.4k—28y8273y
ARDRISHAIG COMMUNITY TRUST→
SC344641 · est 2008
———90018y8181y
ASSOCIATION OF CONSTRUCTION ATTORNEYS→
SC344543 · est 2008
——£2.4k—18y8175y
BARCALDINE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION→
SC295774 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————20y8177y
BENMORE AND KILMUN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST→
SC254743 · est 2003
——£3.5k—22y8176y
METER EYE LTD→
SC294491 · est 2005
——£30—20y8176y
PORT ELLEN HARBOUR ASSOCIATION LIMITED→
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————24y8170y
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————20y8062y
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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2008-08-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

Dunselma Castle
Strone
Dunoon
Argyll
PA23 8RU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-24
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-21
Last: 2025-08-07

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

DALRYMPLE, Niel Scott→
secretary · appointed 2008-08-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KENNEDY, Melina Suzanne→
director · ~64y · appointed 2008-08-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-08-07 · resigned 2008-08-07
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-director · appointed 2008-08-07 · resigned 2008-08-07
Resigned

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

Recent filings (52 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-04-23
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2025-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-06-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-03-26