FIRST DOG LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC544331 · ltd · incorporated 2016-09-01
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities of employment placement agencies
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 72/100 (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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
20 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
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 | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|
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 (15 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-25📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-05-25📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-05-22➖FLAHERTY, Gillian Morag resigneddirector
- 2021-06-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-01🏢Company incorporatedAs FIRST DOG LTD
- 2016-09-01➕FLAHERTY, Christopher Lynton appointeddirector
- 2016-09-01➕FLAHERTY, Gillian Morag appointeddirector
- 2016-09-01📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
45/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Christopher Lynton Flaherty Individual · British · DOB 11/1976 · age 50 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 01/09/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Gillian Morag Flahertyceased 25/05/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIRECTOR PAYROLL LIMITED→ SC749776 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DMC ENGINEERING & WELDING LTD→ SC884511 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ELGAR FINLAY LIMITED→ SC521282 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ENSOCENE LIMITED→ SC555265 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| EPC GRAMPIAN LTD.→ SC345145 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ERIK LUNDBERG LIMITED→ SC262618 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| FINDHORN INNOVATION RESEARCH & EDUCATION, CIC→ SC607337 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| FINSBAY HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC803805 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| FIRE WORK FRANCHISE LIMITED→ SC564461 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| FIRTH INSPECTION SERVICES LTD→ SC747361 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| FLIP OF THE COIN C.I.C.→ SC810151 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| FMS LAW LIMITED→ SC731936 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-09-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC78109 — Other activities of employment placement agencies
Registered office
31 Montague Row
Inverness
IV3 5DX
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-14
Last: 2025-08-31
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
FLAHERTY, Christopher Lynton→
Activedirector · ~50y · appointed 2016-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FLAHERTY, Gillian Morag→
Resigneddirector · ~44y · appointed 2016-09-01 · resigned 2022-05-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (20 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-05-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-11