LIDDESDALE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC382636 · ltd · incorporated 2010-07-27

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

£720.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Activities of head offices

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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 (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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

3 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

50 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 · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £720,146

Net assets shrinking

Down £52,263 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£720k

↓ 6.8% YoY

Current Assets

£725k

↓ 6.8% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£720.1k	£772.4k
Current assets	£724.8k	£777.5k
Net assets	£720.1k	£772.4k

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 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-09-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-17
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-23
📄
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2021-04-23
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2021-04-21
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2021-04-21
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2020-11-17
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2020-10-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-11-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-02-17
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-11-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2010-11-10
➖
HBJGW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2010-09-20
➕
HARTOP, Benjamin Ian appointed
director
2010-09-20
➖
ALMOND, Deborah Jane resigned
director
2010-07-27
🏢
Company incorporated
As LIDDESDALE LIMITED
2010-07-27
➕
HBJGW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2010-07-27
➕
ALMOND, Deborah Jane appointed
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — 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 63. 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Sheila Hartop Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	17/02/2018
Mr Benjamin Ian Hartop Individual · Scottish · DOB 01/1963 · age 63	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	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 · TD postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
PLEXUS CORP. LIMITED→ SC207257 · est 2000	£4.8k £3.5k–£6.0k	—	—	0	26y	85	60y
KSA GROUP LTD→ 03316444 · est 1997	—	—	—	1500	29y	83	67y
LEITHEN MARINE LIMITED→ SC329813 · est 2007	—	—	£1.31M	—	18y	83	85y
LITTLEDANE LIMITED→ SC225303 · est 2001	—	—	£7.85M	—	24y	83	70y
ANDY PURVES LIMITED→ SC254901 · est 2003	—	—	—	3	22y	82	58y
DEANS ACCOUNTANTS AND BUSINESS ADVISORS LTD.→ SC185950 · est 1998	—	—	—	1800	28y	82	62y
EYESTORE LIMITED→ SC242820 · est 2003	—	—	—	—	23y	82	80y
MINERVA SERVICES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC155404 · est 1995	—	—	—	300	31y	82	72y
P AND D INNS LTD→ 06828315 · est 2009	—	—	£2.4k	—	17y	82	68y
COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC343015 · est 2008	—	—	£12.9k	—	18y	81	64y
E.N.B.G. LIMITED→ SC281556 · est 2005	—	—	£291	—	21y	81	64y
24 CAPITAL LIMITED→ 07038101 · est 2009	—	—	£10.8k	—	16y	80	61y

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

Incorporated2010-07-27

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC70100 — Activities of head offices

Registered office

4 Weensgate Drive

Hawick

TD9 9PF

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-03

Last: 2026-02-17

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

HARTOP, Benjamin Ian→

director · ~63y · appointed 2010-09-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HBJGW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2010-07-27 · resigned 2010-11-10

Resigned

ALMOND, Deborah Jane→

director · ~61y · appointed 2010-07-27 · resigned 2010-09-20

Resigned

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

Recent filings (50 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-03-02

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-09-01

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC04

2025-02-17

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-02-17

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-11-01

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-02-17

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2023-10-24

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-02-22

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2022-12-23

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-02-17

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2021-12-13

capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares

capital · SH10

2021-04-23

capital-name-of-class-of-shares

capital · SH08

2021-04-23

memorandum-articles

incorporation · MA

2021-04-21

resolution

resolution · RESOLUTIONS

2021-04-21