DRUMMOND MELVILLE (UK) LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC371273 · ltd · incorporated 2010-01-18
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other information service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
8 connected companies via shared directors
69
Filing history
75 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-06📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-06-06📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-06-03➖RAE, Marc resigneddirector
- 2021-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-08📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-10-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-10-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-10-08📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-10-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-10-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-27📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-09-27📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-09-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-09-24📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-04➕RAE, Marc appointeddirector
- 2019-01-18➖HORNE, Patrick Joseph resigneddirector
- 2015-09-29➕HORNE, Patrick Joseph appointeddirector
- 2010-01-18🏢Company incorporatedAs DRUMMOND MELVILLE (UK) LTD
- 2010-01-18➕MORGAN, David William appointedsecretary
- 2010-01-18➕MORGAN, David William appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David William Morgan Individual · British · DOB 04/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 18/01/2017 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Marc Raeceased 03/06/2022· board control
- Mr Patrick Joseph Horneceased 15/05/2019· 25-50% shares
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 →Similar companies
Active · Technology · TD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A AND R DIGITAL LTD→ 13464921 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AFRICAN MEDIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 03577106 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ANN ARBOR PUBLISHERS LIMITED→ 02773739 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
| ASSURED FINANCE TODAY LTD→ 08649659 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BERWICK VISITOR CENTRE LIMITED→ 10413368 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CARBONBRAIN LTD→ 16692646 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CLOSE CONSULTING LTD→ 14487615 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DIGISERVE COMMUNICATIONS LTD→ 06060512 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ENIGMA MANAGING CONSULTANTS LTD→ 09505744 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| GHRC CONSULTING LIMITED→ 11661774 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| GOFIBRE BROADBAND LIMITED→ 14404189 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| HADABOS CONSULTING LIMITED→ 14317440 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-01-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC63990 — Other information service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
8a Tweed Mills
Dunsdale Road
Selkirk
Scottish Borders
TD7 5DZ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-23
Last: 2026-04-09
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
MORGAN, David William→
Activesecretary · appointed 2010-01-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MORGAN, David William→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2010-01-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HORNE, Patrick Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2015-09-29 · resigned 2019-01-18
RAE, Marc→
Resigneddirector · ~35y · appointed 2021-08-04 · resigned 2022-06-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (75 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-06-06
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-20
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-10-08