ESL MCNEISH CONSULTANCY LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC405880 · ltd · incorporated 2011-08-22
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 material changes in the last 90 days.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
35 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-04-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-09-05
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  11. 2017-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-11-14
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2016-05-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-03-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2015-09-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2011-08-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ESL MCNEISH CONSULTANCY LTD
  17. 2011-08-22
    ➕
    MCNEISH, Scott William appointed
    director

Owner dependency

95/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MCNEISH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

58/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • 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

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Scott William Mcneish
Individual · British · DOB 01/1969 · age 57
50–75%
—50-75% shares22/08/2016
Mrs Gillian Margaret Mcneish
Individual · British · DOB 08/1973 · age 53
25–50%
—25-50% shares22/08/2017

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2011-08-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

First Floor, Unit 4 Earls Court
Earls Gate Business Park
Grangemouth
Stirlingshire
FK3 8ZE
Scotland

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 · 0 resigned)

MCNEISH, Scott William→
director · ~57y · appointed 2011-08-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (35 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-04-23