DD4 PUB LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC632692 · ltd · incorporated 2019-06-07

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£-7.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Public houses and bars

Sector: Accommodation & food service

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

14 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

76/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Negative net assets

Liabilities exceed assets by £7,923

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

-£8k

↑ 12% YoY

Current Assets

£21k

↑ 61% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£-7.9k	£-9.0k
Current assets	£21.0k	£13.0k
Net assets	£-7.9k	£-9.0k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (10 events)Click to expand

2025-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-07
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2019-06-07
🏢
Company incorporated
As DD4 PUB LTD
2019-06-07
➕
PENMAN, Karen appointed
director
2019-06-07
📄
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 67 — succession pressure is live.
+No director turnover: Company is 7 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 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

clean

No 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
Karen Penman Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	07/06/2019

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

Similar companies

Active · Hospitality · DD postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
GREEN PARK LIMITED→ SC170546 · est 1996	£2.29M £1.72M–£2.86M	£3.47M	—	5500	29y	84	65y
TAILEND RESTAURANT (ST ANDREWS) LIMITED→ SC359357 · est 2009	—	—	—	-4900	17y	83	70y
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BROOKPEAK LIMITED→ SC358190 · est 2009	—	—	£5.5k	—	17y	82	60y
C. & S. SCHOFIELD LIMITED→ SC285780 · est 2005	—	—	—	0	20y	82	74y
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LINDSAY STREET PROPERTIES LIMITED→ SC067260 · est 1979	—	—	—	4	47y	82	71y
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2019-06-07

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC56302 — Public houses and bars

Registered office

40-42 Brantwood Avenue

Dundee

DD3 6EW

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-06-20

Last: 2025-06-06

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

PENMAN, Karen→

director · ~67y · appointed 2019-06-07

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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