DINGWALL SOLICITORS LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC529822 · ltd · incorporated 2016-03-16
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£9.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
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: Solicitors
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 8.0y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 8.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
30 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £9,863

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£10k
↑ 1.3% YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↓ 5.8% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£303k£607k£910k£1.2m£1.5mAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£34.6k£37.1k
Current assets£1.43M£1.52M
Net assets£9.9k£9.7k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-19
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2023-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-14
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  7. 2021-09-14
    ✏️
    change-of-name-request-comments
    change-of-name · NM06
  8. 2021-09-14
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  9. 2021-08-03
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2021-06-30
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, William Graham resigned
    director
  11. 2021-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-05-31
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2019-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-04-29
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, William Graham appointed
    director
  16. 2019-04-29
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  17. 2018-04-13
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  18. 2018-04-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
  19. 2018-01-09
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  20. 2018-01-03
    ➖
    MCILROY HIPWELL, Mary Elizabeth resigned
    director
  21. 2016-03-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DINGWALL SOLICITORS LTD
  22. 2016-03-16
    ➕
    DINGWALL, Fiona Elizabeth appointed
    director
  23. 2016-03-16
    ➕
    MCILROY HIPWELL, Mary Elizabeth appointed
    director

Owner dependency

98/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DINGWALL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • 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

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
Miss Fiona Elizabeth Dingwall
Individual · British · DOB 04/1965 · age 61
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting08/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Mary Elizabeth Mcilroy Hipwellceased 03/01/2018· 25-50% shares

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 · KY postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
FRAXINUS ADVISORY LIMITED→
SC812533 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
FRUAN LIMITED→
SC553553 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
FUTURE GREEN ENERGY LIMITED→
SC608593 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
FVM MEDICAL SERVICES LTD→
SC743117 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
FYFE GROUP LIMITED→
SC765736 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
GALLUS RECRUITMENT LTD→
SC823434 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
GDS PLANT HIRE LIMITED→
SC770732 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
GIBBS VEHICLE HIRE LIMITED→
SC448667 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————12y——
GLENSHIRE GROUP LTD→
SC667897 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
GLOBAL GOLFSCAPES ST ANDREWS LTD→
SC876447 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
GM TECH SERVICES LTD→
SC776214 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
GMJ PROJECT CONTROLS LTD→
SC515630 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
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
Incorporated2016-03-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors

Registered office

24 Chalmers Street
Dunfermline
Fife
KY12 8DF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-29
Last: 2026-03-15

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

DINGWALL, Fiona Elizabeth→
director · ~61y · appointed 2016-03-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCILROY HIPWELL, Mary Elizabeth→
director · ~72y · appointed 2016-03-16 · resigned 2018-01-03
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, William Graham→
director · ~64y · appointed 2019-04-29 · resigned 2021-06-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—12/04/2018—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (30 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-25
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2021-09-14
change-of-name-request-comments
change-of-name · NM06
2021-09-14
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2021-09-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-31