ARGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC453495 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-01
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
£-582
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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: 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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
30 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 declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £582
Cash YoY
+37%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£3k
↑ 37% YoY
Net Worth
-£582
↑ 100% YoY
Current Assets
£10k
↑ 8.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-07-31 | 2023-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-582 | £-282.6k |
| Current assets | £10.1k | £9.3k |
| Cash | £2.9k | £2.1k |
| Debtors | £7.2k | £7.2k |
| Net assets | £-582 | £-282.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-24📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2020-10-20📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2020-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-05📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-07-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-07-01🏢Company incorporatedAs ARGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED
- 2013-07-01➕COWIE, Steven Alexander appointedsecretary
- 2013-07-01➕COWIE, Steven Alexander appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. 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 13 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 Steven Alexander Cowie Individual · British · DOB 05/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | — | board control75-100% shares · board control | 01/07/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Property · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUEBELL PROPERTY INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC219921 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| BOSWELL HOUSE DEVELOPMENTS LTD.→ SC283824 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| BRUCE PSG LTD→ SC768767 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BRUGUS ESTATES LIMITED→ SC083385 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 42y | — | — |
| BSB99 LTD→ SC646404 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BUILDFORTH CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ SC182989 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BURNBANK 1775 LIMITED→ SC555748 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BUYING AND SELLING RENFREWSHIRE LTD→ SC828968 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| C&D GRANT PROPERTY LIMITED→ SC772748 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CAILLEACH INVESTMENTS LTD→ SC855218 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CAIRNS PROPERTIES LIMITED→ SC228327 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| CALEDONIA PROPERTY INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC831808 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-07-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68320 — Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis
Registered office
12 Victoria Road
Gourock
Inverclyde
PA19 1LD
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-15
Last: 2025-07-01
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
COWIE, Steven Alexander→
Activesecretary · appointed 2013-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COWIE, Steven Alexander→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2013-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-23
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2020-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-23
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2020-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-12-18