BIRNAM VILLA UNLIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC402787 · private-unlimited · incorporated 2011-07-01
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 75). 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 (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
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
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
43 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | — |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-01📄change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH04
- 2022-03-21📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-11-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-14📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-07-14📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2016-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2011-07-01🏢Company incorporatedAs BIRNAM VILLA UNLIMITED
- 2011-07-01➕BRODIES SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2011-07-01➕SULLEY, John Leslie appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 75 — 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 70+: Senior director is approximately 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- 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 John Leslie Sulley Individual · British · DOB 02/1951 · age 75 | 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.
🔒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 · Trade services · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUETHISTLE COMMERCIAL CLEANING SERVICES LTD→ SC858339 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BONA HAIR LTD→ SC722713 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BONESS FADE LIMITED→ SC852785 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BONNIE BROOMS LTD→ SC780111 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BONNYRIGG BUSINESS PARK LTD→ SC713548 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BOOSH LTD→ SC248992 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BORDER BAGUETTES LIMITED→ SC255225 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BORDER COURIERS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC465330 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BORDERS MUCKY PAWS DOG WALKING LTD→ SC819365 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BOREAL INDUSTRIAL OPCO GENERAL PARTNER LIMITED→ SC723236 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BOROUGH TRUSTEE NO3 LIMITED→ SC487841 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| BOSWALL DOG GROOMING LTD→ SC567979 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Typeprivate-unlimited
Incorporated2011-07-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
C/O Brodies Llp Capital Square
58 Morrison Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8BP
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-15
Last: 2025-07-01
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
BRODIES SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
Activecorporate-secretary · appointed 2011-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SULLEY, John Leslie→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 2011-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (43 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-01
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2022-07-01
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-02