ELSCO HEATING LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC404559 · ltd · incorporated 2011-08-02
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£66.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 71). 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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
34 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £66,757
Cash YoY
+3%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£45k
↑ 2.5% YoY
Net Worth
£67k
↑ 2.5% YoY
Current Assets
£55k
↑ 6.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £66.8k | £65.1k |
| Current assets | £55.1k | £51.5k |
| Cash | £44.6k | £43.5k |
| Debtors | £61 | £48 |
| Net assets | £66.8k | £65.1k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-20📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-04-20📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-04-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-04-20📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-03-02➖CARPENTER, Linda resignedsecretary
- 2023-03-02➖CARPENTER, Linda Patricia resigneddirector
- 2022-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-02-06➕CARPENTER, Linda Patricia appointeddirector
- 2011-08-02🏢Company incorporatedAs ELSCO HEATING LTD
- 2011-08-02➕CARPENTER, John appointeddirector
- 2011-08-02➕CARPENTER, Linda appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 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 15 years.
- 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 John Carpenter Individual · British · DOB 08/1955 · age 71 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Linda Patricia Carpenterceased 02/03/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Retail · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFUK CONCEPTS LTD→ SC496696 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| CROWN STORES LTD→ SC353985 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| EDEN COURT TRADING LIMITED→ SC464541 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ELGIN FURNITURE & CARPET CENTRE LIMITED→ SC252844 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| FLOCK & SAUNTER LTD→ SC863222 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FRASER BROTHERS (BUTCHERS) LIMITED→ SC438839 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| FREEMAN RETAIL (HIGHLAND) LIMITED→ SC815636 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| FRIENDS OF HIGHLAND TIDE DESIGNS LTD→ SC798952 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| FRONTLINE BODYBUILDING LTD→ SC845740 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FSMACLEOD CAPITAL LTD→ SC875510 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GADPHARM LTD→ SC442597 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| GAIRLOCH & LOCH EWE ACTION FORUM→ SC220037 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2011-08-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Registered office
69 Wards Road
Elgin
Morayshire
IV30 1TE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-16
Last: 2025-08-02
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
CARPENTER, John→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2011-08-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CARPENTER, Linda→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2011-08-02 · resigned 2023-03-02
CARPENTER, Linda Patricia→
Resigneddirector · ~78y · appointed 2012-02-06 · resigned 2023-03-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (34 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-02
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-04-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-04-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-25