999 DESIGN GROUP LIMITED
Opportunity 73/100 (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 (58/100).
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 33.9y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 33.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1100 | 1600 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
3 signals detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Recent activity
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-31📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2022-08-31📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-08-31📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2022-08-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2022-08-31📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-08-30➕MCLEISH, John Daniel appointedsecretary
- 2022-08-30➖GAUGHAN, William resignedsecretary
- 2022-08-30➖GAUGHAN, William resigneddirector
- 2022-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-30📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-11-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2017-11-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-07-06➖GOW, Alan resigneddirector
- 2016-06-27🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2016-06-27🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2016-06-24➕MCLEISH, John Daniel appointeddirector
- 2016-06-24➖BISSLAND, Richard resigneddirector
- 2016-06-17🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
- 2005-04-07➖FORBES, Keith resigneddirector
- 2002-09-20➕FORBES, Keith appointeddirector
- 2002-09-20➕GOW, Alan appointeddirector
- 1992-06-04🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1992-05-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1982-05-27🏢Company incorporatedAs 999 DESIGN GROUP LIMITED
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 44 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 med ·Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Group structure
Equator (Scotland) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Equator (Scotland) Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 20/06/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr William Gaughanceased 30/08/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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.
See pricing →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111) | A registered charge | — | 17/06/2016 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 04/06/1992 | 27/06/2016 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Floating charge | 1 property | 21/05/1992 | 27/06/2016 |