DESIGN & DECOM LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC689535 · ltd · incorporated 2021-02-17
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
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Turnover
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
£13.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (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 (73/100).

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
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
13 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £13,909
Net assets shrinking
Down £193 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£14k
↓ 1.4% YoY
Current Assets
£14k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£3k£6k£8k£11k£14kJul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Total assets£13.9k£14.1k
Current assets£13.9k£14.0k
Net assets£13.9k£14.1k

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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (10 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-03
    📄
    legacy
    other · GUARANTEE1
  4. 2024-08-22
    📄
    legacy
    other · GUARANTEE1
  5. 2024-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-06-06
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  8. 2021-02-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DESIGN & DECOM LTD
  9. 2021-02-17
    PAUL, Gayatri appointed
    director
  10. 2021-02-17
    📄
    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 58 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 5 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 58. Early succession window.
  • 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 Gayatri Paul
Individual · British · DOB 01/1968 · age 58
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control17/02/2021

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 →
🔒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.

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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
Incorporated2021-02-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71122 — Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities

Registered office

11 Glen Gardens
Dyce
Aberdeen
AB21 7FD
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-06
Last: 2026-01-23

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

PAUL, Gayatri
director · ~58y · appointed 2021-02-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (13 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-17
legacy
other · GUARANTEE1
2024-09-03
legacy
other · GUARANTEE1
2024-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-03
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2022-06-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-27
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2021-02-17