BUILDMASTER ELITE LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC461239 · ltd · incorporated 2013-10-10
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Development of building projects
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). 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: 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
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
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
29 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 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 | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|
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
- 2025-07-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-07-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-02-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2013-10-10🏢Company incorporatedAs BUILDMASTER ELITE LTD
- 2013-10-10➕CRANSTON, James Russell appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 67 — 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 67. 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 James Russell Cranston Individual · Scottish · DOB 08/1959 · age 67 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Construction · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSQ CONSULT LTD→ SC421143 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| CU PLUMBING AND HEATING LTD→ SC832628 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CULLEN PLUMBING & HEATING LIMITED→ SC393940 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CULLROSS (BALLINDEAN) LIMITED→ SC685822 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CUMBRAE PROPERTY LIMITED→ SC492499 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| CUMMINGS PLUMBING LIMITED→ SC463623 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CUTHBERTS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→ SC626628 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| D BLACK ELECTRICAL SERVICES LTD→ SC882032 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D BLAKE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC187718 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| DAMP DOCTORS NATIONAL LTD→ SC802980 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DARM UTILITIES LTD→ SC834449 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DAVID GRIERSON LTD→ SC381114 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-10-10
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC41100 — Development of building projects
Registered office
Bonnington Bond
2 Anderson Place
Edinburgh
EH6 5NP
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-13
Last: 2025-09-29
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
CRANSTON, James Russell→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2013-10-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-30