DQS SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC610247 · ltd · incorporated 2018-10-08
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Quantity surveying activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (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: medium (55/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
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
22 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-08-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2024-07-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2024-07-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2023-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-03-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2021-03-11
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2021-03-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2020-12-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2020-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-10-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DQS SERVICES LTD
  16. 2018-10-08
    ➕
    HOWATSON, Donna Jayne appointed
    director
  17. 2018-10-08
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

80/100
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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 8 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

Some 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

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
Ms Donna Jayne Howatson
Individual · British · DOB 10/1985 · age 41
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control08/10/2018

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
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7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2018-10-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74902 — Quantity surveying activities

Registered office

Highfield Castlehill
Tundergarth
Lockerbie
DG11 2PX
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-21
Last: 2025-10-07

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

HOWATSON, Donna Jayne→
director · ~41y · appointed 2018-10-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (22 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-07-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-03-26