AD MARKETING SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC697922 · ltd · incorporated 2021-05-06
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 May 2025
Net worth
£-22.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).
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
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
16 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £22,600
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£23k
↓ 1.8% 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 | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-22.6k | £-22.2k |
| Current assets | £0 | £399 |
| Net assets | £-22.6k | £-22.2k |
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 (13 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-22✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2022-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-08-08📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-08-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-08-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-05-06🏢Company incorporatedAs AD MARKETING SERVICES LTD
- 2021-05-06➕DOYLE, Alan appointeddirector
- 2021-05-06📄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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Doyle Individual · British · DOB 01/1992 · age 34 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/05/2021 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ALFA BRAVO COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED→ SC636382 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 2QQ LIMITED→ SC649962 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 3-56 MEDIA LIMITED→ SC413110 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| 99 VENTURES LTD→ SC400733 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ABEL & CO SERVICES LTD→ SC333097 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ACEIT CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC572172 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACTING UP LIMITED→ SC211404 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| AD-CHOREL MUSIC LIMITED→ SC058905 · est 1975 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 50y | — | — |
| ADA K CONSULTING LTD→ SC592456 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADAMIC LTD→ SC527455 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADARTA LIMITED→ SC874004 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADDITYV LIMITED→ SC706205 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2021-05-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing
Registered office
5 South Charlotte Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4AN
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-14
Last: 2026-01-31
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Active
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (16 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-31
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2022-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-08-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-08-11
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-08-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-08-11