BROWN SON AND FERGUSON, LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC011878 · ltd · incorporated 1922-01-03
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 44.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.04M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), 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: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 44.6y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 44.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
110 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,035,640

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£599k
Net Worth
£1.0m
Current Assets
£925k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-31
Total assets£1.04M
Current assets£925.1k
Cash£598.6k
Debtors£148.5k
Net assets£1.04M

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2025-06-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2025-06-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2024-07-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-11-24
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2020-11-21
    ➖
    INGRAM-BROWN, Leslie resigned
    director
  11. 2020-09-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-06-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-06-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-08-11
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  15. 2017-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-02-03
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  17. 2016-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2010-01-05
    ➖
    BROWN, Wendy Tracey resigned
    secretary
  19. 2009-01-13
    ➕
    BROWN, Wendy Tracey appointed
    secretary
  20. 2008-05-16
    ➕
    BROWN, Richard Brian Peter appointed
    director
  21. 2008-05-16
    ➕
    TULLY, Wendy Tracey appointed
    director
  22. 2008-04-13
    ➖
    INGRAM-BROWN, Margaret resigned
    director
  23. 2008-01-01
    ➖
    INGRAM-BROWN, Leslie resigned
    secretary
  24. 1982-06-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  25. 1981-10-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  26. 1922-01-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BROWN SON AND FERGUSON, LIMITED

Owner dependency

98/100
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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BROWN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

83/100
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 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 104 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

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Thomas Nigel Brown
Individual · British · DOB 03/1946 · age 80
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control11/06/2024
Mrs Wendy Tracey Tully
Individual · British · DOB 11/1980 · age 46
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control11/06/2024
Mr Richard Brian Peter Brown
Individual · Scottish · DOB 12/1984 · age 42
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control25/05/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated1922-01-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing

Registered office

426 Unit 1a
426 Drumoyne Road
Glasgow
G51 4DA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-23
Last: 2025-06-09

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

BROWN, Richard Brian Peter→
director · ~42y · appointed 2008-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BROWN, Thomas Nigel→
director · ~80y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TULLY, Wendy Tracey→
director · ~46y · appointed 2008-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BROWN, Wendy Tracey→
secretary · appointed 2009-01-13 · resigned 2010-01-05
Resigned
INGRAM-BROWN, Leslie→
secretary · resigned 2008-01-01
Resigned
INGRAM-BROWN, Leslie→
director · ~79y · resigned 2020-11-21
Resigned
INGRAM-BROWN, Margaret→
director · ~106y · resigned 2008-04-13
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property02/06/1982—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property28/10/1981—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (110 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-16
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-06-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-14