CORE PLANT SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC391391 · ltd · incorporated 2011-01-12
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£1.33M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle 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 (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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
42 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 102Positive net assets
Net assets £1,325,650
Cash YoY
-2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£348k
↓ 1.9% YoY
Net Worth
£1.3m
↑ 9.5% YoY
Current Assets
£990k
↓ 1.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-01-30 | 2024-01-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.33M | £1.33M |
| Current assets | £989.9k | £1.00M |
| Cash | £347.8k | £354.7k |
| Debtors | £642.1k | £646.2k |
| Net assets | £1.33M | £1.21M |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-11-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-09-21✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2022-09-21📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2022-01-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-04-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-04-21📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-04-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-04-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-01-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-01-12🏢Company incorporatedAs CORE PLANT SERVICES LTD
- 2011-01-12➕MCNALLY, Frank appointedsecretary
- 2011-01-12➕MCLELLAN, Edward appointeddirector
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
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 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 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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 Edward Mclellan Individual · British · DOB 10/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% 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 · Construction · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSQ CONSULT LTD→ SC421143 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| CU PLUMBING AND HEATING LTD→ SC832628 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CULLEN PLUMBING & HEATING LIMITED→ SC393940 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CULLROSS (BALLINDEAN) LIMITED→ SC685822 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CUMBRAE PROPERTY LIMITED→ SC492499 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| CUMMINGS PLUMBING LIMITED→ SC463623 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CUTHBERTS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→ SC626628 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| D BLACK ELECTRICAL SERVICES LTD→ SC882032 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D BLAKE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC187718 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| DAMP DOCTORS NATIONAL LTD→ SC802980 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DARM UTILITIES LTD→ SC834449 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DAVID GRIERSON LTD→ SC381114 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-01-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Registered office
5 Fairbairn Street
Fairbairn Street
Balerno
EH14 7FG
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-30
Last made up to: 2025-01-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-17
Last: 2026-01-03
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
MCLELLAN, Edward→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2011-01-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (42 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-11-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-01
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-01-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-11-15
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2022-09-21
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-21