DESIGNLINE CREATIVE LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC359356 · ltd · incorporated 2009-05-08
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
£20.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £20,300

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£20k
↑ 366% YoY
Current Assets
£88k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£18k£35k£53k£70k£88kNov 2023Nov 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-11-302023-11-30
Total assets£20.3k£4.4k
Current assets£88.1k£87.5k
Net assets£20.3k£4.4k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-11-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2022-11-29
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  6. 2022-11-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-07-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2022-05-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2022-05-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2022-05-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2021-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-08-30
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2019-08-30
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2018-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2009-05-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DESIGNLINE CREATIVE LTD.
  19. 2009-05-08
    ➕
    MAXWELL, Kim appointed
    secretary
  20. 2009-05-08
    ➕
    MAXWELL, Kim appointed
    director
  21. 2009-05-08
    ➕
    MENZIES, Ashley appointed
    director
  22. 2009-05-08
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2009-05-08
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2009-05-08
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
    director
  25. 2009-05-08
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
    director

Owner dependency

68/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

59/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Ms Ashley Marie Menzies
Individual · British · DOB 03/1981 · age 45
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Kimberley Maxwell
Individual · British · DOB 03/1977 · age 49
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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——£184.0k—22y8361y
AK VEHICLE RENTAL LIMITED→
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
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6 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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2009-05-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

Mirren Court Three
123 Renfrew Road
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA3 4EA
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-22
Last: 2025-05-08

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MAXWELL, Kim→
secretary · appointed 2009-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MAXWELL, Kim→
director · ~49y · appointed 2009-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MENZIES, Ashley→
director · ~45y · appointed 2009-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2009-05-08 · resigned 2009-05-08
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
director · ~76y · appointed 2009-05-08 · resigned 2009-05-08
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-11-29
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-11-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-24