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.
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
£1.54M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-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: high (85/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed
95
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
43 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 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,540,962
Cash YoY
-14%
Year on year

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£298k
↓ 14% YoY
Net Worth
£1.5m
↑ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£1.3m
↑ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£308k£616k£925k£1.2m£1.5mJan 2024Jan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2026-01-302025-01-302024-01-30
Total assets£1.54M£1.33M£1.33M
Current assets£1.25M£989.9k£1.00M
Cash£298.0k£347.8k£354.7k
Debtors£956.4k£642.1k£646.2k
Net assets£1.54M£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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-07-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-02-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-10-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-01-30
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  9. 2022-11-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2022-09-21
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  11. 2022-09-21
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  12. 2022-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-04-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2021-04-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2021-04-21
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  16. 2021-04-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2021-04-21
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  18. 2021-01-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2020-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2011-01-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CORE PLANT SERVICES LTD
  21. 2011-01-12
    ➕
    MCNALLY, Frank appointed
    secretary
  22. 2011-01-12
    ➕
    MCLELLAN, Edward 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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Edward Mclellan
Individual · British · DOB 10/1960 · age 66
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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: 2027-10-30
Last made up to: 2026-01-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-17
Last: 2026-01-03

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

MCNALLY, Frank→
secretary · appointed 2011-01-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCLELLAN, Edward→
director · ~66y · appointed 2011-01-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (43 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-07-08
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