ELSMAC LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC522284 · ltd · incorporated 2015-12-11
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). 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
20 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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (12 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ELSMAC LIMITED
- 2015-12-11➕MACNAUGHTON, Elspeth Violet appointeddirector
- 2015-12-11📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
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 66 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
70/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Miss Elspeth Violet Macnaughton Individual · British · DOB 08/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 09/12/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLEARVIEW MINDS LTD→ SC545854 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CLYDE PORPOISE CIC→ SC560366 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| DEEP RIVER (ENGINEERING) LIMITED→ SC155149 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| DOGGY DAY DREAMZ LTD→ SC770101 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DONN SHELDON ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ SC288284 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| DONN SHELDON MANAGEMENT LTD→ SC626744 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| EDC INTEGRATED LIMITED→ SC495333 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| EFFICAX LIMITED→ SC499264 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| EILEAN MOR LIMITED→ SC677585 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ELECTRICAL TESTING COMPLIANCE LTD→ SC525339 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| EMC2 ENGINEERING LTD→ SC779431 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| EMPLOYEE MARKET LTD→ SC835246 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-12-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
27 Clevans Road
Bridge Of Weir
Renfrewshire
PA11 3HP
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-24
Last: 2025-12-10
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
MACNAUGHTON, Elspeth Violet→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2015-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (20 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-12-28