SIMPLE FUNERALS (SCOTLAND) LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC685471 · ltd · incorporated 2021-01-11

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jan 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 99999

Sector: Extraterritorial bodies

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 72). 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 (80/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

3 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

10 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

76/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-01-31	2024-01-31

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (7 events)Click to expand

2025-09-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-03-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-11
🏢
Company incorporated
As SIMPLE FUNERALS (SCOTLAND) LTD
2021-01-11
➕
PALMER, John Mcneill Burgess appointed
director
2021-01-11
📄
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

95/100

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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
+No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr John Mcneill Burgess Palmer Individual · British · DOB 12/1954 · age 72	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	11/01/2021

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.

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Similar companies

Active · Other · PA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
LOCH EARN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD→ SC018491 · est 1935	—	—	£17.6k	—	91y	83	69y
STRUTHERS MEMORIAL CHURCH→ SC335480 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	83	66y
AN TAIRBEART LIMITED→ SC139476 · est 1992	—	—	£946.0k	—	33y	82	94y
CHURCHILL (SCOTLAND) PROPERTIES LIMITED→ SC202429 · est 1999	—	—	£5.1k	—	26y	82	74y
R & C MURRAY LIMITED→ SC368915 · est 2009	—	—	£23.0k	—	16y	82	73y
SPEY BAY TRADING COMPANY LTD.→ SC180155 · est 1997	—	—	£5.4k	—	28y	82	73y
ARDRISHAIG COMMUNITY TRUST→ SC344641 · est 2008	—	—	—	900	18y	81	81y
ASSOCIATION OF CONSTRUCTION ATTORNEYS→ SC344543 · est 2008	—	—	£2.4k	—	18y	81	75y
BARCALDINE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION→ SC295774 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	81	77y
BENMORE AND KILMUN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST→ SC254743 · est 2003	—	—	£3.5k	—	22y	81	76y
METER EYE LTD→ SC294491 · est 2005	—	—	£30	—	20y	81	76y
PORT ELLEN HARBOUR ASSOCIATION LIMITED→ SC222764 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	81	70y

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.

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🔒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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2021-01-11

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

3 Caplethill Road

Paisley

PA2 7TE

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-05

Last: 2025-12-22

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

PALMER, John Mcneill Burgess→

director · ~72y · appointed 2021-01-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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