EP PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC439312 · ltd · incorporated 2012-12-21
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Research and experimental development on biotechnology
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active 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 (76/100)

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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
37 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Average employees1100

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-08-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2024-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2023-04-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-04-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2023-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-11-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2020-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-03-23
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  15. 2019-03-12
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  16. 2018-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2013-01-16
    ➕
    SPIGNOLI, Giacomo appointed
    director
  18. 2012-12-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As EP PHARMACEUTICALS LTD
  19. 2012-12-21
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2012-12-21
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2012-12-21
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
    director
  22. 2012-12-21
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
    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 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong 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 13 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

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 Giacomo Spignoli
Individual · Italian · DOB 05/1957 · age 69
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2012-12-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC72110 — Research and experimental development on biotechnology

Registered office

Flat 6 49 South Gyle Broadway
Edinburgh
EH12 9LR
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last: 2025-12-17

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

SPIGNOLI, Giacomo→
director · ~69y · appointed 2013-01-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2012-12-21 · resigned 2012-12-21
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
director · ~76y · appointed 2012-12-21 · resigned 2012-12-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (37 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-04-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-23