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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees1100

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-25
    📄
    capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
    capital · SH10
  6. 2023-01-24
    📄
    second-filing-of-annual-return-with-made-up-date
    annual-return · RP04AR01
  7. 2023-01-23
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  8. 2023-01-23
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  9. 2023-01-23
    📄
    second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
    confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
  10. 2023-01-23
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2023-01-23
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2023-01-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2023-01-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2023-01-20
    ➖
    DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir resigned
    director
  15. 2023-01-20
    ➖
    WOODHOUSE, Richard John resigned
    director
  16. 2022-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2021-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-06-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2021-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  20. 2020-11-06
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  21. 2020-10-06
    ➖
    CRERAR, Alan James, Dr resigned
    director
  22. 2020-01-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  23. 2014-10-01
    ➕
    DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir appointed
    director
  24. 2014-10-01
    ➖
    DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir resigned
    director
  25. 2014-09-24
    ➕
    DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir appointed
    director
  26. 2013-07-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DUNDAS DRILLING SERVICES LTD
  27. 2013-07-22
    ➕
    SLOAN, Andrew Arbuckle appointed
    director
  28. 2013-07-22
    ➕
    CRERAR, Alan James, Dr appointed
    director
  29. 2013-07-22
    ➕
    WOODHOUSE, Richard John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material 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 signal

Multiple 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

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 Andrew Arbuckle Sloan
Individual · British · DOB 01/1973 · age 53
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control22/07/2016
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 →

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GENERAL OCEANS UK HOLDINGS LTD→
SC308386 · est 2006
£9.77M
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——019y8468y
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SC215790 · est 2001
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——30025y8862y
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ACCURA MEASUREMENT LIMITED→
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ALLEN ASSOCIATES (H.P.E.) LIMITED→
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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.

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→
director · ~53y · appointed 2013-07-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CRERAR, Alan James, Dr→
director · ~63y · appointed 2013-07-22 · resigned 2020-10-06
Resigned
DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir→
director · ~56y · appointed 2014-10-01 · resigned 2023-01-20
Resigned
DUNCAN, Henry Robertson Weir→
director · ~56y · appointed 2014-09-24 · resigned 2014-10-01
Resigned
WOODHOUSE, Richard John→
director · ~54y · appointed 2013-07-22 · resigned 2023-01-20
Resigned

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