RUMOURS (KIRKCALDY) LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC240082 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-25
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£53.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Property-backed borrower with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 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

2 live charges · oldest 22.8y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 22.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £53,829
Cash YoY
+25%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£64k
↑ 25% YoY
Net Worth
£54k
↑ 24% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£13k£26k£38k£51k£64kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£53.8k£43.4k
Current assets—£51.5k
Cash£64.1k£51.5k
Net assets£53.8k£43.4k

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 (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-23
    ➖
    EDMISTON, William John resigned
    secretary
  5. 2022-09-23
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  6. 2022-09-23
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2022-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-07-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2020-06-28
    ➖
    EDMISTON, William John resigned
    director
  12. 2019-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-12-09
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-01-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2003-09-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  19. 2003-08-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2002-11-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As RUMOURS (KIRKCALDY) LTD.
  21. 2002-11-25
    ➕
    MCALPINE, James appointed
    director
  22. 2002-11-25
    ➕
    EDMISTON, William John appointed
    secretary
  23. 2002-11-25
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2002-11-25
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2002-11-25
    ➕
    EDMISTON, William John appointed
    director
  26. 2002-11-25
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2002-11-25
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. 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

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Mcalpine
Individual · Scottish · DOB 11/1965 · age 61
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr William John Edmistonceased 23/09/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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—£123.7k—29y8273y
REGENTS ESTATES AND MORTGAGES LIMITED→
SC252333 · est 2003
£107.7k
£91.5k–£123.8k
—£107.7k—22y8264y
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
Incorporated2002-11-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

22 Thornhill Drive
Kirkcaldy
Fife
KY2 5BH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-16
Last: 2025-10-02

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

MCALPINE, James→
director · ~61y · appointed 2002-11-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
EDMISTON, William John→
secretary · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2022-09-23
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2002-11-25
Resigned
EDMISTON, William John→
director · ~61y · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2020-06-28
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2002-11-25
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property23/09/2003—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property27/08/2003—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (60 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-14
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-09-23
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-07-09