D A GAULD PROPERTIES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC383532 · ltd · incorporated 2010-08-11
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£249.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Development of building projects
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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 (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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
40 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £249,577
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,182 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£250k
↓ 2.8% YoY
Current Assets
£555k
↑ 10% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £249.6k | £256.8k |
| Current assets | £555.0k | £503.9k |
| Net assets | £249.6k | £256.8k |
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 (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-04-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-07-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-10📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-08-11🏢Company incorporatedAs D A GAULD PROPERTIES LIMITED
- 2010-08-11➕GAULD, Derek Alexander appointeddirector
- 2010-08-11➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2010-08-11➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2010-08-11➕MABBOTT, Stephen George appointeddirector
- 2010-08-11➖MABBOTT, Stephen George resigneddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GAULD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Derek Alexander Gauld Individual · British · DOB 03/1957 · age 69 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Construction · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUNNINGHAM PLASTERING LTD→ SC357878 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| CW ACCESS LTD→ SC851313 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CWW ELECTRICAL LTD→ SC517313 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| D COWIE PLUMBING & HEATING LTD→ SC727927 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| D J C STRACHAN JOINERY LTD→ SC655007 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DANDARA ABERDEEN LIMITED→ SC655665 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DAVID COWE LIMITED→ SC285815 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| DAVIDSONS MARINE & INDUSTRIAL PAINTERS LTD.→ SC245245 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| DEESIDE PLUMBING AND HEATING LTD→ SC606663 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| DEESIDE ROOFING LIMITED→ SC532359 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| DEVERON SERVICES LTD→ SC855684 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DEVREV JOINERY LTD→ SC866486 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2010-08-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC41100 — Development of building projects
Registered office
55-57 West High Street
Inverurie
Aberdeenshire
AB51 3QQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-25
Last: 2025-08-11
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
GAULD, Derek Alexander→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2010-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2010-08-11 · resigned 2010-08-11
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 2010-08-11 · resigned 2010-08-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (40 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-04-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-20