S.T. DRILLING LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC541487 · ltd · incorporated 2016-07-29
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 Mar 2024
Net worth
£-12.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 09100
Sector: Mining & quarrying
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 65). 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 (70/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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
33 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £12,355
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£12k
Current Assets
£7k
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £-9.5k |
| Current assets | £6.9k |
| Net assets | £-12.4k |
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-27📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2025-07-08📍move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-addressaddress · AD04
- 2024-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-02-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-02-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-07-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-08-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-29🏢Company incorporatedAs S.T. DRILLING LTD
- 2016-07-29➕TAPLEY, Stephen Mark 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 65 — 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
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stephen Mark Tapley Individual · British · DOB 02/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 29/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| VORTUS INTERNATIONAL LTD→ SC834476 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| VYSUS (GB) LIMITED→ SC125513 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| W J BROWN MECHANICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC133395 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
| WADJES LIMITED→ SC702028 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| WALKER COMPLETIONS SERVICES LIMITED→ SC220794 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| WAVEBEAM LIMITED→ SC575003 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| WCS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC447768 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| WELL ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY LTD.→ SC196296 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| WELL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY LTD→ SC411984 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| WELLDECOMMISSIONED UK LIMITED→ SC687739 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-07-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC09100 — SIC 09100
Registered office
C/O Johnston Carmichael Bishop's Court
29 Albyn Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1YL
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-06
Last: 2025-07-23
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
TAPLEY, Stephen Mark→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2016-07-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2026-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-31
move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
address · AD04
2025-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-02-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-02-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-07-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-22