DUFFY & CO. FM & BUSINESS SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC442164 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-06
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£4.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £4,733
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£5k
↑ 206% YoY
Current Assets
£10k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £4.7k | £1.5k |
| Current assets | £10.1k | — |
| Net assets | £4.7k | £1.5k |
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
2
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-02-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-08📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2018-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2013-02-06🏢Company incorporatedAs DUFFY & CO. FM & BUSINESS SERVICES LTD
- 2013-02-06➕DUFFY, Gordon Joseph 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 "DUFFY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — 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
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 65. 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
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 Gordon Joseph Duffy Individual · British · DOB 03/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 17/02/2026 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Gordon Joseph Duffyceased 17/02/2026· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Property · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAVID FINLAYSON LIMITED→ SC088199 · est 1984 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| DXB-GLA LTD→ SC588988 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| EASYDONE LTD→ SC875754 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| EDERLINE HOLDINGS LTD→ SC717217 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ELLA & LEWIS PROPERTIES LTD→ SC801222 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ELLIE COTTAGES PRIVATE LIMITED→ SC853395 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| EMBARK PROPERTIES LTD→ SC877131 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| EMMERSON HOMES LIMITED→ SC553330 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| EMPEROR PROPERTIES LTD→ SC789558 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ENNISBAY LIMITED→ SC186729 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ENY PROPERTY INVESTMENTS LTD→ SC637981 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ERSKINE PROPERTY RENTALS LTD→ SC761013 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-02-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68320 — Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis
Registered office
13 Garvel Drive
Greenock
Renfrewshire
PA15 4NN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-26
Last: 2026-01-12
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
DUFFY, Gordon Joseph→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2013-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-02-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-17