ARL BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC247623 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-10
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£9.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 69202Bookkeeping activities
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 75). 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).

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
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
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £9,896
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,034 YoY
Cash YoY
+1265%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£27k
↑ 1265% YoY
Net Worth
£10k
↓ 9.5% YoY
Current Assets
£22k
↓ 45% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£8k£16k£24k£32k£40kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£9.9k£10.9k
Current assets£21.8k£39.8k
Cash£26.7k£2.0k
Debtors£-4.9k£37.9k
Net assets£9.9k£10.9k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-03
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  4. 2024-07-02
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  5. 2024-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-05-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2018-05-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2018-03-31
    ➖
    THOMSON, Lyall David resigned
    director
  14. 2018-03-31
    ➖
    THOMSON, Ross James resigned
    director
  15. 2018-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-07-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2016-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2006-10-17
    ➖
    THOMSON, Amy Kate resigned
    director
  20. 2003-04-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARL BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
  21. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    THOMSON, Marion Jane appointed
    secretary
  22. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    THOMSON, Marion Jane appointed
    director
  23. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-04-10
    ➖
    ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    THOMSON, Amy Kate appointed
    director
  26. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    THOMSON, Lyall David appointed
    director
  27. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    THOMSON, Ross James appointed
    director
  28. 2003-04-10
    ➕
    ACS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 2003-04-10
    ➖
    ACS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

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
Mrs Marion Jane Thomson
Individual · British · DOB 09/1951 · age 75
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016

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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CARLSAN SURVEYS LTD.→
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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
Incorporated2003-04-10
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

23 High Street
Strathmiglo
Cupar
Fife
KY14 7QA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-04-24
Last: 2025-04-10

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

THOMSON, Marion Jane→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THOMSON, Marion Jane→
director · ~75y · appointed 2003-04-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2003-04-10
Resigned
THOMSON, Amy Kate→
director · ~50y · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2006-10-17
Resigned
THOMSON, Lyall David→
director · ~41y · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2018-03-31
Resigned
THOMSON, Ross James→
director · ~48y · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2018-03-31
Resigned
ACS NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-04-10 · resigned 2003-04-10
Resigned

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

Recent filings (64 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-02
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-30