DEEP RIVER (ENGINEERING) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC155149 · ltd · incorporated 1994-12-28
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 · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£207.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (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).

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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
79 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £207,070

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£207k
↑ 18% YoY
Current Assets
£219k
↑ 18% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£44k£88k£132k£175k£219kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£207.1k£175.7k
Current assets£219.3k£186.4k
Net assets£207.1k£175.7k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal 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

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-07
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2025-10-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-09-30
    ➖
    MADDEN, Elizabeth resigned
    director
  4. 2024-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-08-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2016-07-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-01-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-07-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-12-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2009-12-01
    ➕
    MADDEN, David James appointed
    director
  18. 1997-01-01
    ➕
    MADDEN, James appointed
    secretary
  19. 1997-01-01
    ➖
    MADDEN, Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  20. 1997-01-01
    ➕
    MADDEN, Elizabeth appointed
    director
  21. 1997-01-01
    ➖
    MADDEN, James resigned
    director
  22. 1995-12-28
    ➕
    MADDEN, Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  23. 1994-12-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DEEP RIVER (ENGINEERING) LIMITED
  24. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    REID, Brian appointed
    nominee-secretary
  25. 1994-12-28
    ➖
    REID, Brian resigned
    nominee-secretary
  26. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
    nominee-director
  27. 1994-12-28
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
    nominee-director
  28. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    MADDEN, James appointed
    director

Owner dependency

85/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

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
Mr David James Madden
Individual · British · DOB 08/1979 · age 47
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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.

See pricing →

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——8943y8575y
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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.

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
Incorporated1994-12-28
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71121 — Engineering design activities for industrial process and production

Registered office

73 Union Street
Greenock
Renfrewshire
PA16 8BG
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last: 2025-12-17

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

MADDEN, James→
secretary · appointed 1997-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MADDEN, David James→
director · ~47y · appointed 2009-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MADDEN, Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 1995-12-28 · resigned 1997-01-01
Resigned
REID, Brian→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-12-28 · resigned 1994-12-28
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen→
nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1994-12-28 · resigned 1994-12-28
Resigned
MADDEN, Elizabeth→
director · ~72y · appointed 1997-01-01 · resigned 2025-09-30
Resigned
MADDEN, James→
director · ~76y · appointed 1994-12-28 · resigned 1997-01-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (79 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-26