MERCHISTON CASTLE SCHOOL

🌳Matureactive

SC014265 · private-limited-guarant-nsc · incorporated 1926-07-30

Investment thesis

Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.

Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.

Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 15.4y 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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

77/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Primary education

Sector: Education

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

85310General secondary education

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 15.4y

65/100

clean up first

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

· Oldest live charge is 15.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Legal-friction score 38/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: low (52/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

78 officers (10 active, 78 linked, 71 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)

Director network

11 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

230 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

77/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 officers

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (151 events)Click to expand

2026-02-11
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-05
➖
MARSHALL, Andrew Wilson resigned
director
2025-07-01
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-07-01
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-07-01
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-28
➖
BAIRD, Gareth Thomas Gilroy resigned
director
2025-06-28
➖
ELLIOTT, Robert Samuel resigned
director
2025-06-28
➖
JUDD, Norman Martin resigned
director
2025-05-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-05-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-04-30
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-04-30
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-04-29
➕
CRAWFORD, James Robert appointed
director
2025-04-29
➕
FOLEY, Kelly Marie appointed
director
2025-04-29
➕
MCLAREN, Caroline Emma appointed
director
2025-03-20
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-03-20
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-03-20
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-03-18
➕
COOK, Robert Barclay appointed
director
2025-03-18
➕
MCKEAN, John Howard appointed
director
2025-03-18
➕
MARSHALL, Andrew Wilson appointed
director
2025-01-02
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-08-28
➖
CONNAN, Alexandra, Doctor resigned
director
2024-04-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-10-31
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-06-26
➕
DEANS, Rachel Ann, Dr appointed
director
2023-06-26
➖
HINTON, Gillian Christine Mahler resigned
director
2023-04-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-27
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-21
➖
MOORE, Duncan Charles Mcnaught resigned
director
2023-02-16
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-11-28
➖
ABRAHAMS, Philomena Margaret resigned
director
2022-06-30
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-06-29
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-06-27
➕
GREIG, Kenneth Muir appointed
director
2022-06-27
➕
MCCARLIE, Ian Bryson appointed
director
2022-06-27
➖
FRASER, Allan resigned
director
2022-06-27
➖
NUTTON, Richard William resigned
director
2021-12-31
➖
BAIRD, Gavin Roger Todd resigned
director
2021-06-28
➖
JOHNSTON, David Eric Lothian resigned
director
2021-04-20
➖
HALLIDAY, John Dixon, Dr resigned
director
2021-03-15
➖
ABRAM, Stephen Paterson resigned
director
2021-03-15
➕
HALLIDAY, John Dixon, Dr appointed
director
2021-03-15
➕
JUDD, Norman Martin appointed
director
2021-03-15
➖
MCATEER, Ian Henderson resigned
director
2020-07-31
➖
WHITEFORD, David Robert resigned
director
2020-06-11
➖
CLAYTON, William Jeremy James resigned
director
2019-06-10
➕
HINTON, Gillian Christine Mahler appointed
director

Showing most recent 50 of 151 events

Owner dependency

55/100

Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS

-9 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

50/100

Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.

Red flags

1 med ·

4 director resignations in last 12 months

medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: BAIRD, Gareth Thomas Gilroy resigned 2025-06-28; ELLIOTT, Robert Samuel resigned 2025-06-28; JUDD, Norman Martin resigned 2025-06-28

🔒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

Active · Education & training · EH postcode area

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ARGYLE BRIDGE LIMITED→ SC277898 · est 2005	—	—	£73.6k	—	21y	83	67y
C.T.T.S. (MANAGEMENT) LIMITED→ SC273935 · est 2004	—	—	—	900	21y	83	64y
COLINTON NURSERIES LIMITED→ SC245941 · est 2003	—	—	—	2100	23y	83	75y
EARLY DAYS NURSERY LIMITED→ SC199638 · est 1999	—	—	£123.3k	—	26y	83	79y
LITTLE MONKEYS LIMITED→ SC219838 · est 2001	—	—	—	113	24y	83	61y
THE LEITH SCHOOL OF ART→ SC111089 · est 1988 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	38y	83	76y
TRAINING FOR CARE→ SC100529 · est 1986	—	—	—	9	39y	83	77y
CABER ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ SC207157 · est 2000	—	—	—	2	26y	82	59y
DALRY 183 LTD→ SC224473 · est 2001	—	—	£13.1k	—	24y	82	68y
FIRST ADVENTURES LIMITED→ SC260386 · est 2003	—	—	£1.20M	—	22y	82	74y
HEADSTART NURSERY SCHOOLS LIMITED→ SC319219 · est 2007	—	—	—	—	19y	82	61y
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeprivate-limited-guarant-nsc

Incorporated1926-07-30

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC85200 — Primary education

Registered office

294 Colinton Road

Colinton

Edinburgh

EH13 0PU

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-07-31

Last made up to: 2024-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-18

Last: 2026-03-04