ARDFIN COST ENGINEERING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC454932 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-19
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: dormant / non-trading with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 73/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
27 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-07-31 | 2023-07-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (16 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-10📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-05-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-05-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-08-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-07-19🏢Company incorporatedAs ARDFIN COST ENGINEERING LIMITED
- 2013-07-19➕FRASER, Lewis appointeddirector
Owner dependency
80/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- 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 Lewis Evan Fraser Individual · British · DOB 04/1973 · age 53 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 19/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Holding company · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A E S SOLAR LTD.→ SC249497 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BROOKE WIND ENERGY LIMITED→ SC538813 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CARLTON CINEMAS LIMITED→ SC151509 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| CBT 2022 LIMITED→ SC724040 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| COMBAIST LIMITED→ SC868780 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D & F MENZIES LIMITED→ SC675607 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| FLANSCOT LIMITED→ SC437403 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| G & A BARNIE GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC686223 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| GAEL HOLDING LTD→ SC831134 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| GRAND ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS LTD→ SC686168 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HARD CAKE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC740410 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| HEATHERDALE PROPERTY LTD→ SC870793 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-07-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
Registered office
Knockarroch
Whitebridge
Inverness
IV2 6UP
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-08
Last: 2026-03-25
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
FRASER, Lewis→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2013-07-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (27 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-16