BUCHAN-MACDONALD ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC450335 · ltd · incorporated 2013-05-17
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 May 2025
Net worth
£26.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (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: 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £26,065

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£26k
↑ 3.1% YoY
Current Assets
£11
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£5k£10k£16k£21k£26kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£26.1k£25.3k
Current assets£11£11
Net assets£26.1k£25.3k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2023-05-17
    ➖
    MACDONALD, Carolynn Mary resigned
    director
  6. 2023-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-06-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-06-10
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-02-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2014-06-09
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2013-05-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BUCHAN-MACDONALD ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD
  19. 2013-05-17
    ➕
    BUCHAN MACDONALD, James appointed
    director
  20. 2013-05-17
    ➕
    MACDONALD, Carolynn Mary appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 64. 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 James Buchan Macdonald
Individual · British · DOB 05/1962 · age 64
75–100%
—75-100% shares17/05/2017

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

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.

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2013-05-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

35 Crofthead Street
Falkirk
Stirlingshire
FK2 7GG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last: 2025-05-17

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

BUCHAN MACDONALD, James→
director · ~64y · appointed 2013-05-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACDONALD, Carolynn Mary→
director · ~62y · appointed 2013-05-17 · resigned 2023-05-17
Resigned

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

Recent filings (26 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-24