MANTA DESIGN SCOTLAND LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC455253 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-24
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company 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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 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
27 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£0Jul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-05-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-24
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  6. 2021-08-23
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2021-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-06-29
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  9. 2020-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-08-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2013-07-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MANTA DESIGN SCOTLAND LIMITED
  17. 2013-07-24
    ➕
    CATLING, Jon appointed
    director

Owner dependency

88/100
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.
  • +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 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 Jonathan Ophir Catling
Individual · English · DOB 09/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence24/07/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · IV postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
HARDIE INSTALLATIONS LIMITED→
SC882884 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
HATRICK LTD.→
SC222513 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
HEIGHTSECTOR LIMITED→
SC512528 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
ISLE EWE BOATS LIMITED→
SC685669 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
LOCH AND QUAY LIMITED→
SC701999 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
M & M BEATON PLANT HIRE LIMITED→
SC746065 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
MACKAY STEELWORK & CLADDING LIMITED→
SC161195 · est 1995 · no financials extracted
————30y——
MACKAYS ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED→
SC657575 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
MACLEAN TRANSPORT SERVICES LTD→
SC597599 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
MAKAR (TECHNOLOGIES) HOLDINGS LIMITED→
SC600035 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
MAN CAVE GARAGE LTD→
SC541556 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
MARINE DIESEL SERVICES (SCOTLAND) LTD→
SC172858 · est 1997 · no financials extracted
————29y——
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
Incorporated2013-07-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC28990 — SIC 28990

Registered office

3 Duncan Macpherson Court
Main Street
Kyle
Ross-Shire
IV40 8AY
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-19
Last: 2025-05-05

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

CATLING, Jon→
director · ~64y · appointed 2013-07-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (27 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-23
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2021-08-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-23
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2021-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-05-17