GREY MATTERS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC436332 · ltd · incorporated 2012-11-07
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 77). 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 (79/100)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
2 officers (2 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
30 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 | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-08-17📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-08-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-08-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-11-07🏢Company incorporatedAs GREY MATTERS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
- 2012-11-07➕FRASER, Ian Mcilveen appointedsecretary
- 2012-11-07➕FRASER, Ian Mcilveen 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 age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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 Ian Mcilveen Fraser Individual · British · DOB 12/1949 · age 77 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEMS TALENT LTD→ SC807076 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| GMANINI LTD→ SC878711 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GOLD STAR SUBSEA LTD→ SC474470 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| GREYBAY CONSULTING LTD→ SC634300 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| GRIFFIN SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC455401 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| GROUNDED AGRONOMY LIMITED→ SC868158 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GSG ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LTD→ SC828876 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HALL MECHANICAL DESIGN LIMITED→ SC401177 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| HEALTH & SAFETY FOR BUSINESS LTD→ SC588312 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| HEBRIDEAN BLOOMS LTD→ SC736812 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| HEISENBERG CONSULTING LTD→ SC848011 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HELSBY ENERGY LTD→ SC713198 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-11-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70221 — Financial management
Registered office
2a Seafield Road
Broughty Ferry
Dundee
DD5 3AJ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-21
Last: 2025-11-07
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
FRASER, Ian Mcilveen→
Activesecretary · appointed 2012-11-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FRASER, Ian Mcilveen→
Activedirector · ~77y · appointed 2012-11-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-08-17
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2019-08-17