DUMFRIES HYDRAULIC SERVICES LIMITED
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). 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.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-12-12📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-11-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2008-11-19🏢Company incorporatedAs DUMFRIES HYDRAULIC SERVICES LIMITED
- 2008-11-19➕WARBECK, Ewan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Ewan Warbeck Individual · British · DOB 10/1949 · age 77 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 30/06/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · DG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUROROUTE LIMITED→ SC110658 · est 1988 | £4.11M £3.29M–£4.93M | £11.78M | — | 6500 | 38y | 83 | 78y |
| ARMSTRONG TRUCKS LIMITED→ SC302512 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | 82 | 70y |
| CAR AND TRUCK SERVICES LIMITED→ SC185954 · est 1998 | — | — | £160.8k | — | 27y | 82 | 77y |
| HUNTINGDON GARAGE LIMITED→ SC279130 · est 2005 | — | — | — | 3 | 21y | 82 | 62y |
| ARDWELL MARINE LIMITED→ SC253417 · est 2003 | — | — | — | — | 22y | 80 | 72y |
| BRIDGE END GARAGE (DUMFRIES) LIMITED→ SC237808 · est 2002 | — | — | £266.2k | — | 23y | 80 | 66y |
| FLOW TRADER LTD→ SC555584 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| GARAGE 27 LTD→ SC877598 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| M K TRUCK SERVICES LIMITED→ SC847184 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| OTB AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED→ SC669460 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| PSK AUTO REPAIRS LTD→ SC832121 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| RELIABLE AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 14541236 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.