ARCUS DECORATING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC621193 · ltd · incorporated 2019-02-13
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Painting
Sector: Construction
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: medium (78/100)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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
36 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 · IFRS| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 500 |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
5
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-02-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-02-03📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2026-01-14➖MCPHERSON, Rory resigneddirector
- 2025-05-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-06-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-06-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-29📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-02-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-02-13📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-02-13📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-02-13📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-02-13📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-02-12➕NICOLSON, Daniel David appointeddirector
- 2024-02-12➖MADIGAN, Hayley Louise resigneddirector
- 2023-09-13➕MADIGAN, Hayley Louise appointeddirector
- 2023-09-13📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-09-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-09-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-09-08📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-09-07➖COCHRANE, Scott Henderson resigneddirector
- 2023-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-13🏢Company incorporatedAs ARCUS DECORATING LIMITED
- 2019-02-13➕COCHRANE, Scott Henderson appointeddirector
- 2019-02-13➕MCPHERSON, Rory 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 Daniel David Nicolson Individual · Scottish · DOB 10/1996 · age 30 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 12/02/2024 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Rory Mcphersonceased 12/02/2024· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
- Mr Scott Henderson Cochraneceased 07/09/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Construction · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCHD. FERGUSSON LIMITED→ SC035756 · est 1960 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | — | — |
| ARCHIE INSPECTION LIMITED→ SC849498 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ATOM CONTRACTS LIMITED→ SC486665 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| B&S ROPES LTD→ SC877820 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BD & JC DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ SC536533 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BLACK HILL LIFTING SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC866601 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BLENHEIM HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC080311 · est 1982 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 43y | — | — |
| BLUEPRINT PROJECTS SCOTLAND LTD→ SC875458 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BMAC BRICKWORK LIMITED→ SC825856 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BONNER PLANT HIRE LTD→ SC585828 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BOUNDARIES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC340186 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BPGL SERVICES LTD→ SC843596 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2019-02-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43341 — Painting
Registered office
C/O C Allan & Son Accountancy Services Limited Studio 104, Embroidery Mill
Abbey Mill Business Centre
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA1 1TJ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-27
Last: 2026-02-13
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
NICOLSON, Daniel David→
Activedirector · ~30y · appointed 2024-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COCHRANE, Scott Henderson→
Resigneddirector · ~40y · appointed 2019-02-13 · resigned 2023-09-07
MADIGAN, Hayley Louise→
Resigneddirector · ~34y · appointed 2023-09-13 · resigned 2024-02-12
MCPHERSON, Rory→
Resigneddirector · ~32y · appointed 2019-02-13 · resigned 2026-01-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (36 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-02-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-13