ORCADES MEDICAL LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC554990 · ltd · incorporated 2017-01-19
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Research and experimental development on biotechnology
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 67). 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
24 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
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
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 | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-20➖CONNOR, Stephen Edward resigneddirector
- 2026-01-20📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-01-20📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-01-19🏢Company incorporatedAs ORCADES MEDICAL LIMITED
- 2017-01-19➕FERGUSON, Drew appointedsecretary
- 2017-01-19➕FERGUSON, Drew Mercer appointeddirector
- 2017-01-19➕CONNOR, Stephen Edward appointeddirector
- 2017-01-19📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. 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
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 Drew Mercer Ferguson Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 19/01/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Stephen Edward Connorceased 20/01/2026· 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.
🔒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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · KW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORPOWER OCEAN LIMITED→ SC555644 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| HCR RIGGING LTD→ SC810444 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HERNE SERVICES LTD→ SC812200 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MILLR LIMITED→ SC459335 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| MUNRO'S GARAGE (ORKNEY) LIMITED→ SC554951 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| NORSE V3 LTD→ SC750958 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| NPS NORTH LTD→ SC830130 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ORCADIA ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC768896 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ORKNEY BUSINESS CONSULTANTS LTD→ SC675794 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ORKNEY BUSINESS RING - LABOUR AGENCY LIMITED→ SC306037 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ORKNEY INFLATABLES LTD→ SC622238 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ORKNEY INSPECTIONS LTD→ SC859830 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-01-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC72110 — Research and experimental development on biotechnology
Registered office
East Denwick
Deerness
Orkney
KW17 2QJ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-01
Last: 2026-01-18
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Active
FERGUSON, Drew Mercer→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2017-01-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CONNOR, Stephen Edward→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2017-01-19 · resigned 2026-01-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (24 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-21
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-01-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-29