J D ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC379477 · ltd · incorporated 2010-06-01
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 snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
46 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-242023-12-24

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 (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-11-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2023-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-12
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2022-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-10-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-06-17
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  10. 2020-06-17
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2019-08-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2019-02-04
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2019-02-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2018-08-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-06-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2016-04-07
    ➖
    DICKSON, Margaret resigned
    director
  18. 2015-04-06
    ➕
    DICKSON, Margaret appointed
    director
  19. 2010-06-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As J D ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LTD
  20. 2010-06-01
    ➕
    DICKSON, James William appointed
    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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — 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 66. 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 16 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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
Mr James William Dickson
Individual · British · DOB 08/1960 · age 66
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Marina Dickson
Individual · Latvian · DOB 05/1970 · age 56
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting12/06/2018

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

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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 →
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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.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2010-06-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities

Registered office

5 Greenacres Avenue
Peterhead
Aberdeenshire
AB42 3QL
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-24
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-17
Last: 2025-06-03

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

DICKSON, James William→
director · ~66y · appointed 2010-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DICKSON, Margaret→
director · ~72y · appointed 2015-04-06 · resigned 2016-04-07
Resigned

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

Recent filings (46 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-11-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-06
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-17
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2020-06-17