DAVID SHAW LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC409009 · ltd · incorporated 2011-10-10
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
69/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 96090Other service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 69/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. 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, 2 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 (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
69/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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£0Oct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Average employees100100

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 (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-08
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2025-02-19
    SHAW, Verity Jane resigned
    secretary
  4. 2024-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-11-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-10-31
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  15. 2015-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-10-27
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  17. 2011-10-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DAVID SHAW LTD
  18. 2011-10-10
    SHAW, David Anthony Hirst appointed
    director
  19. 2011-10-10
    SHAW, Verity Jane appointed
    secretary

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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SHAW" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

73/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Anthony Hirst Shaw
Individual · British · DOB 02/1957 · age 69
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

9 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
Incorporated2011-10-10
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

3 Bonnington Terrace
Edinburgh
EH6 4BP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-03-30OVERDUE
Last: 2025-03-16

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

SHAW, David Anthony Hirst
director · ~69y · appointed 2011-10-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHAW, Verity Jane
secretary · appointed 2011-10-10 · resigned 2025-02-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (31 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-08
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-30