HIPPY BUS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC771615 · ltd · incorporated 2023-06-05
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 · high confidence
Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.
  • · Lifecycle stage: early → zombie
  • · Investment thesis: growth_story → zombie_hold
  • · Hygiene score: 50 → 30
  • · Opportunity score: 60 → 52
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "zombie"
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 4 negative signals vs 1 positive.

  • Lifecycle stage: earlyzombie
  • ·Investment thesis: growth_storyzombie_hold
  • Opportunity score: 6052
  • Hygiene score: 5030
  • Bankability: 5040
  • +1 more
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 Jun 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
52/100
Worth a look
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What this business does
Primary activity: Public houses and bars
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed admin-neglect survivor — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 52/100 (worth a look), bankability 40/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (38/100). Current lenders should be on monthly review.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
5 filings
60
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
52/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
35
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
49
Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-06-30

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (5 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  2. 2025-02-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HIPPY BUS LIMITED
  4. 2023-06-05
    GIBSON, Paul Andrew appointed
    director
  5. 2023-06-05
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

2 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-31

Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-06-18

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Paul Andrew Gibson
Individual · Northern Irish · DOB 05/1977 · age 49
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control05/06/2023

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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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

11 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.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2023-06-05
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56302 — Public houses and bars

Registered office

16 Hamilton Street
Broughty Ferry
Dundee
DD5 2NR
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-03-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-18OVERDUE
Last: 2025-06-04

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

GIBSON, Paul Andrew
director · ~49y · appointed 2023-06-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (5 total)

gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2026-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-12
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2023-06-05