H.O. SHORT & SON LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

00205369 · ltd · incorporated 1925-04-20

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 10611

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and structurally messy structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 52/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (45/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

11 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 30.3y

25/100

too messy

Structure is too messy for a clean refinance right now — clean up first or expect bespoke terms.

· Oldest live charge is 30.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 55/100 (high).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (57/100)

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

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

11 charges (11/11 with lender, 11/11 with type)

Directors & officers

16 officers (6 active, 16 linked, 13 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

142 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

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (49 events)Click to expand

2026-02-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-03-24
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-03-24
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-01-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-01-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2023-08-23
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-08-23
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-01-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2022-01-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-09-09
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2021-09-08
🔒
Charge registered #11
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank)
2021-03-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-01-12
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-01-12
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-01-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2018-07-19
🔒
Charge registered #10
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank)
2017-02-24
➖
GLADSTONE, Thomas Black Short resigned
director
2015-11-01
➕
SINCLAIR, Linda appointed
secretary
2015-10-31
➖
DOUGLAS, Louise resigned
secretary
2015-02-06
➕
GLADSTONE, Sarah Jane Short appointed
director
2015-02-06
➕
SINCLAIR, Linda appointed
director
2015-02-06
➕
TULLIS, Alan James appointed
director
2011-02-18
➖
DAVIDSON, Nicholas John resigned
director
2010-04-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2010-04-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2010-04-16
🔒
Charge registered #9
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2010-04-16
🔒
Charge registered #8
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2010-04-16
🔒
Charge registered #7
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2010-03-10
➖
DICKINSON, Robert Cockburn resigned
director
2009-12-18
🔒
Charge registered #6
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2007-05-18
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2006-03-29
➕
DAVIDSON, Nicholas John appointed
director
2003-08-29
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2003-02-15
➖
GLADSTONE, Robert Alder Short resigned
director
2002-09-25
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2002-09-25
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2002-04-02
➕
GLADSTONE, Robert Short appointed
director
2000-07-17
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2000-06-12
➖
GLADSTONE, Eva Janet resigned
director
1998-07-31
➖
WALLS, Hamish Sandeman resigned
director
1998-07-01
➕
DOUGLAS, Louise appointed
secretary
1998-07-01
➖
GLADSTONE, Thomas Black Short resigned
secretary
1996-03-06
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
1996-01-25
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
1995-02-02
➕
WALLS, Hamish Sandeman appointed
director
1993-11-30
➖
SMITH, Richard Anthony Clement resigned
director
1992-04-30
➖
HARME, William resigned
director
1925-04-20
🏢
Company incorporated
As H.O. SHORT & SON LIMITED

Owner dependency

73/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 101 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 med · 1 low

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

7 live charges

low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Robert Short Gladstone Individual · British · DOB 05/1981 · age 45	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence	06/04/2016

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

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EYEMOUTH FREEZERS LIMITED→ SC198644 · est 1999	£2.44M £1.80M–£3.08M	—	—	40	26y	85	85y
KEZIE LIMITED→ SC150524 · est 1994	—	—	£394.7k	—	32y	83	58y
JOHN HOGARTH LIMITED→ SC018340 · est 1935	—	—	£7.64M	—	91y	81	76y
D. R. COLLIN & SON LTD→ SC388209 · est 2010	—	—	£10.58M	—	15y	80	71y
IT'S CAULD LTD.→ SC341975 · est 2008	—	—	—	—	18y	80	82y
JEDHART DISTILLERY LIMITED→ SC457757 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	80	65y
TORABHAIG DISTILLERY LIMITED→ SC457756 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	80	65y
JARVIS PICKLE LIMITED→ SC537787 · est 2016	—	—	£14.5k	—	9y	79	63y
LINDISFARNE LIMITED→ 01214754 · est 1975	—	—	—	1500	50y	79	79y
FARNE SALMON & TROUT LIMITED→ SC076613 · est 1981 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	44y	78	61y
LANGHOLM DISTILLERY LIMITED→ SC464734 · est 2013	—	—	—	100	12y	78	60y
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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

Incorporated1925-04-20

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC10611 — SIC 10611

Registered office

Tweedside Trading Estate

Tweedmouth

Berwick Upon Tweed

TD15 2XF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-15

Last: 2026-02-01