JAMES C. GILLESPIE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC573959 · ltd · incorporated 2017-08-17
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
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 72/100 (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).
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
26 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 · FRS 102| 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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-02-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-01-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-08-11📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-02-01➖GILLESPIE, Graeme Macinroy resigneddirector
- 2020-02-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-02-01📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-30➕MACDONALD, Kevin James appointeddirector
- 2019-05-30📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2018-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-13✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2017-10-13📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2017-08-17🏢Company incorporatedAs JAMES C. GILLESPIE LIMITED
- 2017-08-17➕GILLESPIE, Graeme Macinroy 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
45/100
Moderate signalSome 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
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 Kevin James Macdonald Individual · Scottish · DOB 01/1978 · age 48 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/02/2020 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Graeme Macinroy Gillespieceased 17/08/2020· significant influence
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| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROBATE SUPPORT FIFE LTD→ SC879574 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| RENTON LAW LTD→ SC882229 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| REVOLUTION RENTALS LTD→ SC749474 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| RGP LIMITED→ SC377707 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ROB FISHER CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC729929 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ROPOSPARK LIMITED→ SC487481 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| SCOTT CAIRNS LIMITED→ SC843868 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| SCOTT JORDAN LIMITED→ SC601000 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| SGI SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC585860 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| SLA LIMITED→ SC727748 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| SLB ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC432831 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| SLM FIFE LIMITED→ SC639712 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-08-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71121 — Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Registered office
Block 4 Muirhead
Kirkcaldy
Fife
KY1 3PS
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-30
Last: 2025-08-16
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
MACDONALD, Kevin James→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2019-05-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GILLESPIE, Graeme Macinroy→
Resigneddirector · ~68y · appointed 2017-08-17 · resigned 2020-02-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (26 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-02-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-08-17