DUNDAS DRILLING SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC455050 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-22
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 5 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
45 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal 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 address
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 address
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-25📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2023-01-24📄second-filing-of-annual-return-with-made-up-dateannual-return · RP04AR01
- 2023-01-23📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2023-01-23📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2023-01-23📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2023-01-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-01-23📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-01-23📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-01-23📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-01-20➖DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir resigneddirector
- 2023-01-20➖WOODHOUSE, Richard John resigneddirector
- 2022-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-06📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-10-06➖CRERAR, Alan James, Dr resigneddirector
- 2020-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-01➕DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir appointeddirector
- 2014-10-01➖DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir resigneddirector
- 2014-09-24➕DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir appointeddirector
- 2013-07-22🏢Company incorporatedAs DUNDAS DRILLING SERVICES LTD
- 2013-07-22➕SLOAN, Andrew Arbuckle appointeddirector
- 2013-07-22➕CRERAR, Alan James, Dr appointeddirector
- 2013-07-22➕WOODHOUSE, Richard John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- 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 Andrew Arbuckle Sloan Individual · British · DOB 01/1973 · age 53 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 22/07/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Dundas Consultants Ltdceased 20/01/2023· 25-50% shares
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 · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H M A ENGINEERING LTD→ SC388587 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| HAES ENERGY LIMITED→ SC860486 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HALL 77 LIMITED→ SC449949 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| HANSON FOSTER ENGINEERING LTD→ SC508028 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| HELIX OILFIELD SERVICES LTD→ SC462632 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| HFI BRIDGEHEAD SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ SC662800 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND PROJECT SERVICES LTD→ SC850905 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HOPEVISION CONSULTING LTD→ SC813013 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HUNTLY ANIMAL CARE LIMITED→ SC788822 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| HYDRA TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS LTD→ SC554733 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| HYDROCARBON ASSET MAINTENANCE LTD.→ SC347313 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| HYDROGEN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC866248 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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.
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
Incorporated2013-07-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74909 — Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Registered office
37 Albyn Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1YN
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-05
Last: 2025-07-22
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
SLOAN, Andrew Arbuckle→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2013-07-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CRERAR, Alan James, Dr→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2013-07-22 · resigned 2020-10-06
DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2014-10-01 · resigned 2023-01-20
DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2014-09-24 · resigned 2014-10-01
WOODHOUSE, Richard John→
Resigneddirector · ~54y · appointed 2013-07-22 · resigned 2023-01-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (45 total)
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-04
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2023-01-25
second-filing-of-annual-return-with-made-up-date
annual-return · RP04AR01
2023-01-24
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2023-01-23
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-01-23
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2023-01-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-01-23
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-01-23
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-01-23