VALVE DESIGNS 4U LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC475225 · ltd · incorporated 2014-04-14
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-444
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). 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, 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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
40 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £444

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£444
~ YoY
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
-£444-£444-£444-£444-£444-£444Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£-444£-444
Debtors£34£34
Net assets£-444£-444

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
5
filings
  • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • 2 officers
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
5
filings
  • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • 2 officers
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
5
filings
  • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • 2 officers
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  2. 2026-04-16
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2026-04-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2026-04-15
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2026-04-11
    LOGAN, Margaret Jane resigned
    secretary
  6. 2026-04-11
    LOGAN, Bruce David Ewen resigned
    director
  7. 2025-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-10-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2021-10-25
    FERGUSSON, Michael Gordon resigned
    director
  13. 2021-08-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-05-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-02-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2018-01-04
    JONES, Terence John resigned
    director
  19. 2017-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2016-12-19
    LAIRD, Colin appointed
    director
  21. 2016-12-19
    FERGUSSON, Michael Gordon appointed
    director
  22. 2014-04-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As VALVE DESIGNS 4U LIMITED
  23. 2014-04-14
    LOGAN, Margaret Jane appointed
    secretary
  24. 2014-04-14
    JONES, Terence John appointed
    director
  25. 2014-04-14
    LOGAN, Bruce David Ewen appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

1 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: LOGAN, Margaret Jane resigned 2026-04-11; LOGAN, Bruce David Ewen resigned 2026-04-11

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Colin Laird
Individual · British · DOB 11/1960 · age 66
sig. influencesignificant influence16/12/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Bruce David Ewen Loganceased 11/04/2026· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Terence John Jonesceased 11/04/2026· 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 →

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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
Incorporated2014-04-14
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71121 — Engineering design activities for industrial process and production

Registered office

Xl House Blackburn Business Park, Woodburn Road
Blackburn
Aberdeen
AB21 0PS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-28
Last: 2026-04-14

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

LAIRD, Colin
director · ~66y · appointed 2016-12-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LOGAN, Margaret Jane
secretary · appointed 2014-04-14 · resigned 2026-04-11
Resigned
FERGUSSON, Michael Gordon
director · ~53y · appointed 2016-12-19 · resigned 2021-10-25
Resigned
JONES, Terence John
director · ~69y · appointed 2014-04-14 · resigned 2018-01-04
Resigned
LOGAN, Bruce David Ewen
director · ~64y · appointed 2014-04-14 · resigned 2026-04-11
Resigned

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

Recent filings (40 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-16
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-04-16
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-04-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-10-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-20