VERTAS SERVICES LIMITED

🚨Distressedactive
SC597356 · ltd · incorporated 2018-05-16
Investment thesis
Attractive distress candidate — real problems but workable structure.
Why interesting: Falling signals but no deal-breakers yet; room for negotiation and turnaround.
Why risky: Signals worsening; needs speed and capital discipline.
🔒Estimated value
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Turnover
year to May 2024
Net worth
£-2.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
66/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 09100
Sector: Mining & quarrying
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 33120Repair of machinery
  • 71129Other engineering activities
  • 77390Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 66/100 (strong), bankability 55/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 4 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
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
15 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
66/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
50
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £2,492

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£2k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£674
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
-£2k-£2k-£1k-£592£41£674May 2023May 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-05-312023-05-31
Total assets£13.1k£13.1k
Current assets£674£674
Net assets£-2.5k£-2.5k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal 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
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (10 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  2. 2025-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-05-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As VERTAS SERVICES LIMITED
  9. 2018-05-16
    GAULD, Graeme William appointed
    director
  10. 2018-05-16
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

88/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 8 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-02-28

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Graeme William Gauld
Individual · British · DOB 12/1967 · age 59
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control16/05/2018

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated2018-05-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC09100 — SIC 09100

Registered office

46 Mackie Avenue
Tarves
Ellon
Aberdeenshire
AB41 7LA
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-02-28OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-29
Last: 2025-05-15

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

GAULD, Graeme William
director · ~59y · appointed 2018-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (15 total)

gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-22
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2018-05-16