HELIX OILFIELD SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC462632 · ltd · incorporated 2013-10-30
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
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 7.0y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 7.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
40 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
100
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 · accounting standard unknown| 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.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-16📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-05-15🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2024-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-01-16📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-01-16🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2022-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-05-10📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-05-09🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Murray Rene Limited
- 2019-04-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-11-14📄accounts-amended-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AAMD
- 2018-11-13📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2018-11-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-11-01➕MILNE, Freddie Donald appointedsecretary
- 2014-03-25➕MILNE, Freddie Donald appointeddirector
- 2014-03-25➖BITTNER, Oliver James resigneddirector
- 2013-10-30🏢Company incorporatedAs HELIX OILFIELD SERVICES LTD
- 2013-10-30➕BITTNER, Oliver James 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 12 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 Freddie Donald Milne Individual · British · DOB 05/1989 · age 37 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 30/06/2016 |
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 · 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 | — | — |
| HFI BRIDGEHEAD SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ SC662800 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND PROJECT SERVICES LTD→ SC850905 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HYDRA TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS LTD→ SC554733 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| HYDROGEN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC866248 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HYDROVOLVE LIMITED→ SC600031 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| HYVE ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ SC289669 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| I-INSPIRE RESOURCES LTD→ SC736738 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| I. CAMERON COMMUNICATIONS LTD.→ SC137937 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-10-30
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC77390 — Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.
Registered office
2 Marischal Square
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1DQ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-13
Last: 2025-10-30
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
MILNE, Freddie Donald→
Activesecretary · appointed 2016-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MILNE, Freddie Donald→
Activedirector · ~37y · appointed 2014-03-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BITTNER, Oliver James→
Resigneddirector · ~36y · appointed 2013-10-30 · resigned 2014-03-25
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 15/05/2025 | — | |
| satisfied | Murray Rene Murray Rene Limited | A registered charge | — | 09/05/2019 | 16/01/2023 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (40 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-31
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-05-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-07-13
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-01-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-10-23