CUNNING BLADE LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC464610 · ltd · incorporated 2013-11-27
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£-382.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62020Information technology consultancy activities
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 71/100 (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: strategic trade sale (65/100).

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, 2 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 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
78 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
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
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £381,989
Cash YoY
+3083500%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£31k
↑ 3083500% YoY
Net Worth
-£382k
↓ 26% YoY
Current Assets
£36k
↓ 85% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£382k-£257k-£132k-£7k£118k£243kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£-359.4k£-273.3k
Current assets£36.2k£243.2k
Cash£30.8k£1
Debtors£5.4k£243.2k
Net assets£-382.0k£-304.0k

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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-08
    📄
    capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
    capital · SH10
  3. 2025-10-08
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  4. 2025-10-06
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  5. 2025-10-03
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  6. 2025-10-03
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  7. 2025-10-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  8. 2025-10-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2025-10-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  10. 2025-10-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2025-10-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  12. 2025-10-01
    JOHNSTONE, Dickon Wingfield Stratford appointed
    director
  13. 2025-10-01
    DOWNIE, Christopher John resigned
    director
  14. 2025-10-01
    SPINKS, Martin James resigned
    director
  15. 2025-10-01
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  16. 2025-07-23
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  17. 2025-07-23
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  18. 2025-05-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2025-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2024-07-02
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  21. 2024-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2024-03-13
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  23. 2024-03-06
    📄
    capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
    capital · SH10
  24. 2024-03-06
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  25. 2024-03-04
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  26. 2024-03-04
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  27. 2024-02-07
    JAMESON, Carolyn resigned
    director
  28. 2019-12-23
    JAMESON, Carolyn appointed
    director
  29. 2016-05-31
    MUNRO, Garry resigned
    director
  30. 2015-11-25
    SPINKS, Martin James appointed
    director
  31. 2015-11-24
    MUNRO, Garry appointed
    director
  32. 2013-11-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CUNNING BLADE LTD
  33. 2013-11-27
    DOWNIE, Christopher 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

45/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

1 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: DOWNIE, Christopher John resigned 2025-10-01; SPINKS, Martin James resigned 2025-10-01

Group structure

Themis International Services Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Themis International Services Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
CUNNING BLADE LTD
This company · SC464610

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Themis International Services Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/10/2025
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Martin James Spinksceased 01/10/2025· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Christopher John Downieceased 01/10/2025· 25-50% shares

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

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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
Incorporated2013-11-27
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

13-15 Morningside Drive
Edinburgh
EH10 5LZ
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-12
Last: 2025-05-29

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

JOHNSTONE, Dickon Wingfield Stratford
director · ~48y · appointed 2025-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOWNIE, Christopher John
director · ~51y · appointed 2013-11-27 · resigned 2025-10-01
Resigned
JAMESON, Carolyn
director · ~48y · appointed 2019-12-23 · resigned 2024-02-07
Resigned
MUNRO, Garry
director · ~54y · appointed 2015-11-24 · resigned 2016-05-31
Resigned
SPINKS, Martin James
director · ~51y · appointed 2015-11-25 · resigned 2025-10-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (78 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-19
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2025-10-08
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2025-10-08
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-10-06
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-10-03
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2025-10-03
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-10-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-10-02
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-02
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-10-02
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-10-01
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-07-23
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-23