DANIEL SUTHERLAND DESIGN STUDIO LTD

🌳Matureactive
SC363261 · ltd · incorporated 2009-07-29
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
£18
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
45 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
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 £18
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,450 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£18
↓ 99% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↓ 63% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£2k£3k£5k£7k£9kJul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Total assets£18£3.5k
Current assets£3.1k£8.5k
Cash—£8.5k
Debtors£3.1k—
Net assets£18£3.5k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-02
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-06-27
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Julie Emma appointed
    director
  5. 2024-06-27
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2024-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-06-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2023-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-07-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2017-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-04-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2009-07-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DANIEL SUTHERLAND DESIGN STUDIO LTD
  18. 2009-07-29
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Daniel Hugh appointed
    director
  19. 2009-07-29
    ➕
    HOGG, Raymond Stewart appointed
    director
  20. 2009-07-29
    ➖
    HOGG, Raymond Stewart resigned
    director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SUTHERLAND" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

49/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Daniel Hugh Sutherland
Individual · British · DOB 07/1979 · age 47
75–100%
—sig. influence75-100% shares · significant influence06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated2009-07-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71121 — Engineering design activities for industrial process and production

Registered office

Rosewood Cottage
17 Skateraw Road
Newtonhill
AB39 3PT
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-12
Last: 2025-07-29

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

SUTHERLAND, Daniel Hugh→
director · ~47y · appointed 2009-07-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Julie Emma→
director · ~47y · appointed 2024-06-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOGG, Raymond Stewart→
director · ~63y · appointed 2009-07-29 · resigned 2009-07-29
Resigned

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

Recent filings (45 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-29
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-31