CHESTERS INSPECTION SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC416019 · ltd · incorporated 2012-02-02
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£-1.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
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
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
36 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £1,569
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£2k
Current Assets
£21k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £8.4k | — |
| Current assets | £21.1k | — |
| Net assets | £-1.6k | — |
| Average employees | — | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-03📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-31📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-03-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-04📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-29📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2016-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-02-02🏢Company incorporatedAs CHESTERS INSPECTION SERVICES LIMITED
- 2012-02-02➕CHESTERS, Francis Brian 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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CHESTERS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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 14 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Francis Brian Chesters Individual · British · DOB 04/1982 · age 44 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/07/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Sarah Christina Chestersceased 01/01/2026· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZTEC ACCOUNTING LTD→ SC621522 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| CAMPBELL ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD→ SC868122 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CASS N CO LIMITED→ SC354354 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| CIGA MANAGEMENT UK LTD→ SC567656 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CITY ARCHITECTURE LTD→ SC486388 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| CJO POWER ENGINEERING LTD→ SC773454 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CLEAR BOOKS DUNDEE LTD→ SC837279 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CLS CONSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC453350 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CLUARAN LIMITED→ SC167030 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| CLYDE VALLEY INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC350813 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| CMCAGRONOMY LTD.→ SC844808 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CODE-SPEC LIMITED→ SC346267 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-02-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71122 — Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
Registered office
85 High Street
Arbroath
DD11 1AN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-16
Last: 2026-02-02
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
CHESTERS, Francis Brian→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2012-02-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (36 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-03
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-31
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-03-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-04