ELLEN ST BUSINESS SERVICES LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC406056 · ltd · incorporated 2011-08-24
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Dormant / non-trading with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). 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 (87/100)

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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
40 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

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2023Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-312024-08-312023-08-31

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 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-03-05
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  5. 2024-03-05
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2024-03-04
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  7. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-05-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2017-02-14
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2017-01-01
    ➕
    DYER, Thomas appointed
    director
  17. 2017-01-01
    ➖
    DYER, Owen Thomas resigned
    director
  18. 2013-06-01
    ➕
    DYER, Owen Thomas appointed
    director
  19. 2013-06-01
    ➖
    TRAINER, Peter resigned
    director
  20. 2011-08-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ELLEN ST BUSINESS SERVICES LTD.
  21. 2011-08-24
    ➕
    TRAINER, Peter appointed
    secretary
  22. 2011-08-24
    ➖
    TRAINER, Peter resigned
    secretary
  23. 2011-08-24
    ➕
    MCINTOSH, Susan appointed
    director
  24. 2011-08-24
    ➖
    MCINTOSH, Susan resigned
    director
  25. 2011-08-24
    ➕
    TRAINER, Peter appointed
    director
  26. 2011-08-24
    ➖
    TRAINER, Peter resigned
    director
  27. 2011-08-24
    ➕
    TRAINER, Peter appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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 Thomas Dyer
Individual · British · DOB 10/1954 · age 72
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/03/2024
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Owen Thomas Dyerceased 01/03/2024· 75-100% shares

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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———136336y8569y
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
Incorporated2011-08-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company

Registered office

27 Lauriston Street
Edinburgh
Midlothian
EH3 9DQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-07
Last: 2025-08-24

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

DYER, Thomas→
director · ~72y · appointed 2017-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TRAINER, Peter→
secretary · appointed 2011-08-24 · resigned 2011-08-24
Resigned
DYER, Owen Thomas→
director · ~36y · appointed 2013-06-01 · resigned 2017-01-01
Resigned
MCINTOSH, Susan→
director · ~56y · appointed 2011-08-24 · resigned 2011-08-24
Resigned
TRAINER, Peter→
director · ~74y · appointed 2011-08-24 · resigned 2011-08-24
Resigned
TRAINER, Peter→
director · ~74y · appointed 2011-08-24 · resigned 2013-06-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (40 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-03-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-03-05
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-03-05
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2024-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-27