SCOTTISH MARINE INSTITUTE

💤Zombieactive
SC394197 · private-limited-guarant-nsc-limited-exemption · incorporated 2011-02-24
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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: low (49/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
41 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-12-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-03-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-02-05
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  10. 2018-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-03-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-no-member-list
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-09-08
    ➖
    WALTON, Elaine Barbara resigned
    secretary
  15. 2015-09-08
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  16. 2015-03-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2013-12-13
    ➕
    MILLER, Axel Edward Jason, Professor appointed
    director
  18. 2013-12-13
    ➕
    WALTON, Elaine Barbara appointed
    secretary
  19. 2013-12-13
    ➖
    WJM SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2013-12-13
    ➖
    MACLEOD, Angus George resigned
    director
  21. 2013-12-13
    ➖
    WJM DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  22. 2011-02-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As SCOTTISH MARINE INSTITUTE
  23. 2011-02-24
    ➕
    WJM SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2011-02-24
    ➕
    MACLEOD, Angus George appointed
    director
  25. 2011-02-24
    ➕
    WJM DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +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 12 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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.)
🔒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

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
Typeprivate-limited-guarant-nsc-limited-exemption
Incorporated2011-02-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC72190 — Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Registered office

Sams
Dunbeg
Oban
PA37 1QA
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-10
Last: 2026-02-24

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

MILLER, Axel Edward Jason, Professor→
director · ~63y · appointed 2013-12-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WALTON, Elaine Barbara→
secretary · appointed 2013-12-13 · resigned 2015-09-08
Resigned
WJM SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2011-02-24 · resigned 2013-12-13
Resigned
MACLEOD, Angus George→
director · ~52y · appointed 2011-02-24 · resigned 2013-12-13
Resigned
WJM DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2011-02-24 · resigned 2013-12-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (41 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-01-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-12-19