CELLFIELD READING MATTERS UK LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC239953 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-21
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 85600Educational support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 23.5y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 23.5 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, 2 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 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
69 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 · IFRS| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £3.5k |
| Current assets | — | £12.9k |
| Net assets | — | £3.5k |
| Average employees | 300 | — |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-17📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-11-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-08-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-08-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-08-03📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2002-12-06🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2002-11-21🏢Company incorporatedAs CELLFIELD READING MATTERS UK LTD
- 2002-11-21➕MACDIARMID, Walter appointedsecretary
- 2002-11-21➕MACDIARMID, Fiona Elizabeth appointeddirector
- 2002-11-21➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-11-21➖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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Fiona Elizabeth Mcdiarmid Individual · British · DOB 12/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Walter Macdiarmidceased 22/07/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Education & training · FK postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GREEN ROUTES STIRLING→ SC337234 · est 2008 | — | — | — | 11 | 18y | 83 | 79y |
| THE FALKIRK FOOTBALL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION→ SC384619 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | 83 | 65y |
| THE MEADOWS NURSERY SCHOOL LTD.→ SC242879 · est 2003 | — | — | £200.9k | — | 23y | 82 | 68y |
| THE SCOTTISH PAINTING AND DECORATING APPRENTICESHIP COUNCIL→ SC375654 · est 2010 | — | — | — | 0 | 16y | 81 | 85y |
| ADVENTURE EMERGENCY CARE LIMITED→ SC161395 · est 1995 | — | — | £10 | — | 30y | 80 | 62y |
| DOLLAR NURSERY HOLDINGS LTD→ SC424591 · est 2012 | — | — | — | — | 13y | 80 | 62y |
| DOLLAR NURSERY SCHOOL LTD→ SC270966 · est 2004 | — | — | — | 2600 | 21y | 80 | 62y |
| INDEPENDENT TRAINING SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC256315 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 400 | 22y | 80 | 65y |
| LRN2DRIVE LTD→ SC322660 · est 2007 | — | — | — | — | 19y | 80 | 74y |
| NJP CONSULTANCY AND TRAINING LTD.→ SC300888 · est 2006 | — | — | £3.6k | — | 20y | 80 | 73y |
| OPP4CHANGE LTD→ SC386452 · est 2010 | — | — | — | — | 15y | 80 | 77y |
| ROBIN IFFLA TRAINING LTD.→ SC317383 · est 2007 | — | — | £5.5k | — | 19y | 80 | 73y |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2002-11-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.
Registered office
Springfield House
Laurelhill Business Park
Stirling
FK7 9JQ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-14
Last: 2025-07-31
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
MACDIARMID, Walter→
Activesecretary · appointed 2002-11-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MACDIARMID, Fiona Elizabeth→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2002-11-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2002-11-21
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 | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 06/12/2002 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (69 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-11
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2023-02-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-08-10