NICOL JOHNSTON LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC586133 · ltd · incorporated 2018-01-18
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
£-31.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 76/100 (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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £31,950
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£32k
↓ 15639% YoY
Current Assets
£0
↓ 100% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-31.9k | £11.8k |
| Current assets | £0 | £55.0k |
| Net assets | £-31.9k | £-203 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-25📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-01-17📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2024-12-31📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-28📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-12-27📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2022-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-01-22📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2018-01-22📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2018-01-18🏢Company incorporatedAs NICOL JOHNSTON LIMITED
- 2018-01-18➕GALLACHER, John appointeddirector
- 2018-01-18➕COSEC LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2018-01-18➖COSEC LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2018-01-18📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John Gallacher Individual · Scottish · DOB 05/1968 · age 58 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 18/01/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · PH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTHFIELD ENERGY SERVICES LTD→ SC699891 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| OLDBAUM SERVICES LIMITED→ SC279398 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| OSPREY BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED→ SC833820 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| PA COOPERATIVE LTD→ SC727437 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PARAGON EXECUTIVE SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC676552 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| PEPSHOP MEDIA LTD→ SC777799 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| PERTHSHIRE PIE COMPANY LIMITED→ SC600568 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| PHOENIX ACCOUNTANCY & BOOKKEEPING LTD→ SC652533 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| POSITIVE ASSET FINANCE LTD→ SC881982 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| POTTER INNOVATION LTD→ SC512772 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| PURPLE SUN ENERGY LTD→ SC726005 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PYTHO LTD→ SC638264 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2018-01-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Registered office
Wester Logie Farm
Blairgowrie
Perthshire
PH10 6SN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-24
Last: 2026-02-10
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
GALLACHER, John→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2018-01-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COSEC LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2018-01-18 · resigned 2018-01-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (24 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-29
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-24
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2025-01-17
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-26
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-12-28
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-12-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-04