HEMINGWAY'S EDINBURGH LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC629090 · ltd · incorporated 2019-04-30
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£59.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Licenced restaurants
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 68). 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: high (81/100)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
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
18 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £58,997
Net assets shrinking
Down £130,022 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£59k
↓ 69% YoY
Current Assets
£1k
↓ 97% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £59.0k | £189.0k |
| Current assets | £1.1k | £43.0k |
| Net assets | £59.0k | £189.0k |
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
5
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (15 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-11📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-03-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-03-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-03-11📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-12-04➕CAIRNS, Raymond Joseph appointeddirector
- 2025-12-04➖DOHERTY, Christopher Joseph resigneddirector
- 2025-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-30🏢Company incorporatedAs HEMINGWAY'S EDINBURGH LTD
- 2019-04-30➕DOHERTY, Christopher Joseph appointeddirector
- 2019-04-30📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
90/100
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 68 — succession pressure is live.
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 68. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Raymond Joseph Cairns Individual · British · DOB 01/1958 · age 68 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 04/12/2025 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Christopher Joseph Dohertyceased 04/12/2025· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
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 · Hospitality · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HENDERSON BLACKET LIMITED→ SC868468 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HONEYCOMB & CO CAFE'S LTD→ SC553832 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| HONG YANG EDINBURGH LTD→ SC672720 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HOSPITALITY VENTURES U.K. LTD→ SC409996 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| HOYAAN EXPRESS PVT LTD→ SC884402 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HRE FINANCE LTD→ SC484574 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| HS (EDINBURGH) LTD→ SC473439 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| HS SCOTLAND LTD→ SC837688 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HUNGER HUSTLE LTD→ SC811113 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HUNTINGTON ESTATE LIMITED→ SC518651 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| HYAMS LEISURE LIMITED→ SC444235 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| I&D EDINBURGH LTD→ SC859498 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2019-04-30
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56101 — Licenced restaurants
Registered office
17 Douglas Crescent
Edinburgh
EH12 5BA
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-09
Last: 2026-03-26
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
CAIRNS, Raymond Joseph→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2025-12-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOHERTY, Christopher Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~40y · appointed 2019-04-30 · resigned 2025-12-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (18 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-03-11
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-03-11
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-03-11
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-29