ASHLEY INSPECTION LTD.

💤Zombieactive

SC330723 · ltd · incorporated 2007-09-11

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 Sept 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Electrical installation

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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 (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

43 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-09-30	2023-09-30

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2025-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-07-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-10-12
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-12
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-07-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-09-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2007-09-11
🏢
Company incorporated
As ASHLEY INSPECTION LTD.
2007-09-11
➕
GOWANS, George Gordon appointed
secretary
2007-09-11
➕
GOWANS, Douglas appointed
director
2007-09-11
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2007-09-11
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2007-09-11
➕
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2007-09-11
➖
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2007-09-11
➕
PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2007-09-11
➖
PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES 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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Douglas Gowans Individual · British · DOB 04/1963 · age 63	75–100%	75–100%	board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence	11/09/2016

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

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Active · Construction · EH postcode area

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CARNETHY LIMITED→ SC250503 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
CARSTON HOMES LIMITED→ SC727294 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
CASTLE ROCK HOMES LTD→ SC822209 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CATESBY DEVELOPMENT LAND LIMITED→ SC373759 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
CATESBY ESTATES (DEVELOPMENTS) LIMITED→ SC305339 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
CATESBY ESTATES PROMOTIONS LIMITED→ SC272763 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
CATESBY PROMOTIONS LIMITED→ SC309730 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
CENTRAL DRILLING LIMITED→ SC623660 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
CENTRAL ENERGY SERVICES (EDINBURGH) LIMITED→ SC622956 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
CENTRAL GROUNDWORKS LIMITED→ SC710725 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
CENTRAL PLASTICS & ROOFING LIMITED→ SC323377 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
CENTRAL REFRIGERATION FINANCE LIMITED→ SC045782 · est 1968 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	57y	—	—

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

Incorporated2007-09-11

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC43210 — Electrical installation

Registered office

Bf1, 43 Ashley Terrace

Edinburgh

Midlothian

EH11 1RY

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-06-30

Last made up to: 2024-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-25

Last: 2025-09-11

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

GOWANS, George Gordon→

secretary · appointed 2007-09-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

GOWANS, Douglas→

director · ~63y · appointed 2007-09-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-09-11 · resigned 2007-09-11

Resigned

PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-09-11 · resigned 2007-09-11

Resigned

PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-09-11 · resigned 2007-09-11

Resigned

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