DUMAS INVESTMENTS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC347147 · ltd · incorporated 2008-08-15
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 14.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Advertising agencies
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 14.9y

70/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 14.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
57 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Average employees200200

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 (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-29
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-04-16
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  10. 2018-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-08-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2017-08-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2017-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-06-29
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  15. 2016-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-05-10
    ➕
    CADBURY, Nicholas Andrew appointed
    secretary
  17. 2016-04-01
    ➖
    LAIRD, Campbell Doull resigned
    director
  18. 2016-03-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
  19. 2015-08-15
    ➖
    LYCIDAS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2013-05-13
    ➕
    LYCIDAS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2013-05-13
    ➖
    SF SECRETARIES LTD resigned
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2011-06-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  23. 2008-08-29
    ➕
    CADBURY, Nicholas Andrew appointed
    director
  24. 2008-08-29
    ➕
    FORTUNE-SMITH, Gary James appointed
    director
  25. 2008-08-29
    ➕
    LAIRD, Campbell Doull appointed
    director
  26. 2008-08-29
    ➖
    SF FORMATIONS LTD resigned
    corporate-director
  27. 2008-08-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DUMAS INVESTMENTS LIMITED
  28. 2008-08-15
    ➕
    SF SECRETARIES LTD appointed
    corporate-secretary
  29. 2008-08-15
    ➕
    SF FORMATIONS LTD appointed
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Morag Cadbury
Individual · British · DOB 05/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting10/01/2024
Mr Gary James Fortune-Smith
Individual · British · DOB 05/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mr Nicholas Andrew Cadbury
Individual · British · DOB 06/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated2008-08-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC73110 — Advertising agencies

Registered office

Barge 1502 The Shore
Leith
Edinburgh
Midlothian
EH6 6QW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-29
Last: 2025-08-15

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

CADBURY, Nicholas Andrew→
secretary · appointed 2016-05-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CADBURY, Nicholas Andrew→
director · ~58y · appointed 2008-08-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORTUNE-SMITH, Gary James→
director · ~60y · appointed 2008-08-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LYCIDAS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2013-05-13 · resigned 2015-08-15
Resigned
SF SECRETARIES LTD→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-08-15 · resigned 2013-05-13
Resigned
LAIRD, Campbell Doull→
director · ~69y · appointed 2008-08-29 · resigned 2016-04-01
Resigned
SF FORMATIONS LTD→
corporate-director · appointed 2008-08-15 · resigned 2008-08-29
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
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—29/03/2016—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Floating charge1 property21/06/2011—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (57 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-21