MICHAEL DUFF LAWYERS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC433491 · ltd · incorporated 2012-09-27
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of patent and copyright agents; other legal activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). 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: 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 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
26 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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|
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 (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-24✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2022-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-09-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2012-09-27🏢Company incorporatedAs MICHAEL DUFF LAWYERS LIMITED
- 2012-09-27➕DUFF, Michael Duncan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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 "DUFF" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
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 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Duncan Duff Individual · British · DOB 03/1957 · age 69 | 75–100% | — | sig. influence75-100% shares · significant influence · firm interest | 10/09/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · FK postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAPLE LEAF ARCHITECTURE LTD→ SC281819 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| MARTIN HENDERSON MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD→ SC806665 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| MARVELLOUS MYCOLOGY LIMITED→ SC699594 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| MAXI STAFFING LTD→ SC834683 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MCDOWELL ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC248421 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| MCEACHERN ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ SC404061 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| MCINTYRE MARINE INSPECTIONS LTD→ SC866266 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MENAPIA CONSULTING LIMITED→ SC492927 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| MIKERRY SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC371737 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| MITCHELL'S ENGINEERING LTD→ SC524249 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| MONUMENT SSAS LIMITED→ SC496934 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| MOSTECH MECHANICAL SERVICES LTD→ SC872927 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-09-27
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69109 — Activities of patent and copyright agents; other legal activities
Registered office
23 Fir Park
Tillicoultry
Clackmannanshire
FK13 6PX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-11
Last: 2025-09-27
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
DUFF, Michael Duncan→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2012-09-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (26 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-06
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2023-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-05-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-05-30