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.
Why now
Window opening · high confidence
More negotiable than before — 4 signals weakening over the last 30 days.
- · Deal-killer verdict: workable → complicated
- · Opportunity score: 76 → 68
- · Hygiene score: 90 → 85
- · PSC count: 1 → 0
Opportunity decay
softening · 6-months
Softening — cumulative signals suggest this becomes more negotiable over the next 3–6 months.
- · 4 recent signals weakening vs 0 strengthening
What changed my view
Last 30 days
Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 4 negative signals vs 0 positive.
- ↓Deal-killer verdict: workable → complicated
- ↓Opportunity score: 76 → 68
- ↓Hygiene score: 90 → 85
- ↓PSC count: 1 → 0
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
£13.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
68/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle. Reasonable fundamentals — worth a memo before deciding.
Opportunity 68/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: low (51/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
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
No charge records returned
50
Directors & officers
No officers data
0
Ownership & PSC
No PSC data returned
40
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
68/100Strong
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
70
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £13,909
Net assets shrinking
Down £193 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£14k
↓ 1.4% YoY
Current Assets
£14k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (9 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-03📄legacyother · GUARANTEE1
- 2024-08-22📄legacyother · GUARANTEE1
- 2024-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-06📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-02-17🏢Company incorporatedAs DESIGN & DECOM LTD
- 2021-02-17📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
55/100
Moderate — manageable with handoverSome founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.
FACTORS
- +No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
30/100
Weak signalLimited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENERAL OCEANS UK HOLDINGS LTD→ SC308386 · est 2006 | £9.77M £7.20M–£12.34M | — | — | 0 | 19y | 84 | 68y |
| HIGHLAND FUELS HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC215790 · est 2001 | £9.50M £7.00M–£12.00M | — | — | 300 | 25y | 88 | 62y |
| CRAIGSHANNOCH LIMITED→ SC191743 · est 1998 | £5.90M £4.34M–£7.45M | £2.95M | — | 300 | 27y | 88 | 67y |
| STREAMLINE SHIPPING GROUP LIMITED→ SC131956 · est 1991 | £2.99M £2.20M–£3.77M | — | — | 0 | 35y | 83 | 74y |
| T D C PARSONS PEEBLES LIMITED→ SC663297 · est 2020 | £2.76M £2.03M–£3.48M | £11.52M | — | 5100 | 6y | 87 | 77y |
| ROTECH HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC148822 · est 1994 | £1.97M £1.45M–£2.49M | £453.6k | — | 0 | 32y | 92 | 58y |
| WELLTEC (UK) LTD.→ SC204742 · est 2000 | £134.9k £99.4k–£170.4k | £17.23M | — | 3200 | 26y | 93 | 62y |
| ACCURA MEASUREMENT LIMITED→ SC322109 · est 2007 | — | — | £5.47M | — | 19y | 83 | 60y |
| ALLEN ASSOCIATES (H.P.E.) LIMITED→ SC201596 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | 83 | 59y |
| CONNECT NDT LIMITED→ SC205224 · est 2000 | — | — | £309.8k | — | 26y | 83 | 70y |
| ETPM LIMITED→ SC318161 · est 2007 | — | — | — | 1800 | 19y | 83 | 63y |
| FAREVIEW VENTURES LIMITED→ SC194647 · est 1999 | — | — | £1.93M | — | 27y | 83 | 69y |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
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
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