ACJ-DESIGN (SCOTLAND) LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC544032 · ltd · incorporated 2016-08-30
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£-6.3k
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
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 77). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 4.5y

35/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Charge age ~4.5 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (74/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
26 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
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £6,325

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£6k
Current Assets
£24k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-11-30
Total assets£-2.4k
Current assets£24.4k
Debtors£24.4k
Net assets£-6.3k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-31
    ➖
    CORMACK, Gary Ewan resigned
    director
  3. 2024-10-31
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2024-10-31
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2024-07-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2024-05-31
    ➖
    JOHNSTONE, James Alexander resigned
    director
  7. 2024-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-06-14
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  9. 2023-06-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  10. 2023-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-11-15
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  13. 2021-10-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Handelsbanken PLC
  14. 2021-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-05-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  17. 2019-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-08-31
    ➖
    FRASER, David resigned
    director
  19. 2018-05-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2016-09-15
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  21. 2016-08-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACJ-DESIGN (SCOTLAND) LTD
  22. 2016-08-30
    ➕
    CORMACK, Allan Cameron appointed
    director
  23. 2016-08-30
    ➕
    CORMACK, Gary Ewan appointed
    director
  24. 2016-08-30
    ➕
    FRASER, David appointed
    director
  25. 2016-08-30
    ➕
    JOHNSTONE, James Alexander 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 77 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Allan Cameron Cormack
Individual · British · DOB 02/1949 · age 77
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/08/2016
Mr Gary Ewan Cormack
Individual · British · DOB 11/1979 · age 47
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/08/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2016-08-30
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

5 Moycroft Industrial Estate
Elgin
IV30 1XZ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-14
Last: 2025-08-31

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

CORMACK, Allan Cameron→
director · ~77y · appointed 2016-08-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CORMACK, Gary Ewan→
director · ~47y · appointed 2016-08-30 · resigned 2024-10-31
Resigned
FRASER, David→
director · ~67y · appointed 2016-08-30 · resigned 2018-08-31
Resigned
JOHNSTONE, James Alexander→
director · ~46y · appointed 2016-08-30 · resigned 2024-05-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken PLC
A registered charge1 property28/10/202114/06/2023

Recent filings (26 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-28
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-10-31
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-03
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-14
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2021-11-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-31