A. DINGWALL LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC250022 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-23
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£21.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Painting
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 43342Glazing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 22.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 22.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £21,026
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£21k
↑ 67% YoY
Current Assets
£108k
↓ 5.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £21.0k | £12.6k |
| Current assets | £107.6k | £113.7k |
| Net assets | £21.0k | £12.6k |
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 (32 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-14📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2024-10-14📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2024-10-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-10-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-10-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-10-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-10-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-09-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-09-09➕DINGWALL, Anthony appointeddirector
- 2022-09-09➖DINGWALL, Anthony resigneddirector
- 2022-09-09➕DINGWALL, Russell appointeddirector
- 2022-09-09➖DINGWALL, Russell resigneddirector
- 2022-09-09📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-09-09📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-09-09📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-09-09📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-18🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2003-09-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Tsb Scotland PLC
- 2003-05-23🏢Company incorporatedAs A. DINGWALL LTD.
- 2003-05-23➕DINGWALL, Sharron appointedsecretary
- 2003-05-23➕DINGWALL, Alan appointeddirector
- 2003-05-23➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-05-23➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-05-23➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-05-23➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
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 "DINGWALL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — 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 66. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Dingwall Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66 | 50–75% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Russell Dingwallceased 21/08/2024· 25-50% shares
- Mr Anthony Dingwallceased 21/08/2024· 25-50% shares
- Sharron Dingwallceased 21/08/2024· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 PLANKS LTD→ SC545181 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-05-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43341 — Painting
Registered office
4th Floor Metropolitan House
31-33 High Street
Inverness
IV1 1HT
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-30
Last: 2025-10-16
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
DINGWALL, Alan→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-05-23 · resigned 2003-05-23
DINGWALL, Anthony→
Resigneddirector · ~32y · appointed 2022-09-09 · resigned 2022-09-09
DINGWALL, Russell→
Resigneddirector · ~29y · appointed 2022-09-09 · resigned 2022-09-09
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-05-23 · resigned 2003-05-23
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 17/09/2003 | 18/06/2019 |
Recent filings (68 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-15
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-10-14
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-09-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-09-15