CERTA EST CONSULTANCY LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC602300 · ltd · incorporated 2018-07-11
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
£14.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Other telecommunications activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62090Other information technology service activities
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, 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, 2 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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
17 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £14,870
Cash YoY
+505%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£15k
↑ 505% YoY
Net Worth
£15k
↑ 291% YoY
Current Assets
£19k
↑ 167% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£4k£7k£11k£15k£19kJul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Total assets£14.9k£3.8k
Current assets£18.5k£6.9k
Cash£15.0k£2.5k
Debtors£3.6k£4.5k
Net assets£14.9k£3.8k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal 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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (12 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-09-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2023-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-07-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-07-11
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CERTA EST CONSULTANCY LTD
  11. 2018-07-11
    NICOL, Robert appointed
    director
  12. 2018-07-11
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

95/100
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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 8 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
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.

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
Mrs Maureen Elizabeth Nicol
Individual · British · DOB 11/1961 · age 65
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting11/07/2018
Mr Robert Nicol
Individual · British · DOB 09/1960 · age 66
2550%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control11/07/2018

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

Similar companies

Active · Technology · KA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AEGAS DATA SYSTEMS LIMITED
SC850777 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
AYRSHIRE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS LTD
SC539095 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
9y
BEK---AUDIO LIMITED
SC375777 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
16y
BREEZENODES LTD
SC797998 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
2y
BRIAN BEACOM LTD
SC557080 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
9y
BUCHNER SOLUTIONS LIMITED
SC491191 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
11y
CAMPBELL SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS LIMITED
SC213338 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
25y
CCL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LTD
SC169967 · est 1996 · no financials extracted
29y
CDS (INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY) LTD
SC198777 · est 1999 · no financials extracted
26y
CHONZIE MEDIA LTD
SC735507 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
3y
CLANAVEN LIMITED
SC648616 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
6y
CLARK UTILITIES LTD
SC814782 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
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
Incorporated2018-07-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC61900 — Other telecommunications activities

Registered office

35 The Loaning
Alloway
Ayr
South Ayrshire
KA7 4QL
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-24
Last: 2025-07-10

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

NICOL, Robert
director · ~66y · appointed 2018-07-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (17 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-09