WHAT IF PAISLEY LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC693031 · private-limited-guarant-nsc · incorporated 2021-03-22

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

£550

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 47890

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

90040Operation of arts facilities

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, 2 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

Network not yet resolved

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £550

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£550

↑ 111% YoY

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£550	£-5.1k
Current assets	—	£0
Net assets	£550	£-5.1k

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (7 events)Click to expand

2025-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-22
🏢
Company incorporated
As WHAT IF PAISLEY LTD
2021-03-22
➕
MCATIER, Catherine appointed
director
2021-03-22
📄
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 61 — 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 61. 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Ms Catherine Mcatier Individual · British · DOB 05/1965 · age 61	—	75–100%	board control75-100% voting · board control	22/03/2021

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Retail · PA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
COWAL BUILDING & PLUMBING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC080544 · est 1982	£199.8k £149.9k–£249.8k	—	—	74	43y	85	75y
CAMPBELLS OF ISLAY LTD→ SC630925 · est 2019	£21.5k £16.1k–£26.9k	—	—	800	7y	88	37y
GUITAR GUITAR LIMITED→ SC247523 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	83	75y
INVERCOAST LIMITED→ SC273412 · est 2004	—	—	—	85	21y	83	59y
ANGELLINE (SCOTLAND) LTD.→ SC385592 · est 2010	—	—	—	0	15y	82	61y
ARMYCHAP LIMITED→ SC274762 · est 2004	—	—	—	0	21y	82	61y
BLAIRMORE HERITAGE LIMITED→ SC263059 · est 2004	—	—	£35.6k	—	22y	82	72y
BOWMORE FILLING STATION LIMITED→ SC259944 · est 2003	—	—	£208.8k	—	22y	82	64y
CLYDE PHARMACY LIMITED→ SC273095 · est 2004	—	—	—	11	21y	82	61y
COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL CLEANING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC292909 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	82	62y
DALLAS CARPETS SCOTLAND LTD.→ SC239903 · est 2002	—	—	£467.7k	—	23y	82	60y
GRAMPIAN SPORTS LIMITED→ SC038433 · est 1963 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	63y	82	64y

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

Typeprivate-limited-guarant-nsc

Incorporated2021-03-22

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47890 — SIC 47890

Registered office

25 Moss Street

Paisley

PA1 1DJ

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-04

Last: 2026-03-21

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

MCATIER, Catherine→

director · ~61y · appointed 2021-03-22

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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