DESIGNS RETOLD LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC506758 · ltd · incorporated 2015-05-26
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 May 2024
Net worth
£36.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (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: 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 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
23 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £36,884

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£37k
↑ 1.5% YoY
Current Assets
£35
↓ 98% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£7k£15k£22k£30k£37kMay 2023May 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-05-312023-05-31
Total assets£36.9k£36.3k
Current assets£35£1.5k
Net assets£36.9k£36.3k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

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 (18 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-06-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-06-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2015-06-01
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2015-05-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DESIGNS RETOLD LTD
  15. 2015-05-26
    ➕
    SILLENCE, Brian Victor appointed
    director
  16. 2015-05-26
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
    director
  17. 2015-05-26
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
    director
  18. 2015-05-26
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

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

70/100
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.
  • 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Brian Victor Sillence
Individual · British · DOB 12/1960 · age 66
75–100%
—75-100% shares26/05/2017

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2015-05-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

37 Victoria Street
Fraserburgh
AB43 9PJ
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-09
Last: 2025-05-26

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

SILLENCE, Brian Victor→
director · ~66y · appointed 2015-05-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
director · ~76y · appointed 2015-05-26 · resigned 2015-05-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (23 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-02-27