DRYSDALE MOTORCYCLES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC232460 · ltd · incorporated 2002-06-07
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
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45400
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 5.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 5.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
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
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 7 | 700 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 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
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-02📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2021-02-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2020-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-08-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2002-06-07🏢Company incorporatedAs DRYSDALE MOTORCYCLES LIMITED
- 2002-06-07➕NUGENT, Elaine appointedsecretary
- 2002-06-07➕DRYSDALE, Thomas appointeddirector
- 2002-06-07➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-06-07➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DRYSDALE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Thomas Drysdale Individual · Scottish · DOB 03/1967 · age 59 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Automotive · PH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L & M RATTRAY LTD→ SC289928 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| LAWSONS GARAGE SERVICES LTD→ SC765672 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| LOCH SHIEL GARAGE 2010 LIMITED→ SC380883 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| MDG CAPITAL 3 LIMITED→ SC566449 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| MEADOW GARAGE (CRIEFF) LTD.→ SC368226 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| MOVING METAL LTD→ SC876363 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PARKVIEW MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED→ SC344774 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| PERTH BODYSHOP LIMITED→ SC652585 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| PERTH CAR SALES LTD→ SC842444 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| PERTH CARS LIMITED→ SC479727 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| PERTH SPRAY TECH LIMITED→ SC610065 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| PITLOCHRY GARAGE LIMITED→ SC535126 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-06-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45400 — SIC 45400
Registered office
172 Dunkeld Road
Perth
PH1 3AA
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-21
Last: 2025-06-07
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Active
DRYSDALE, Thomas→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2002-06-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-06-07 · resigned 2002-06-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 23/02/2021 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (52 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-21
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2021-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-07-07