JAMES JOHNSTON & CO. OF ELGIN LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC022553 · ltd · incorporated 1943-09-25

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

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No material changes in the last 90 days.

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

83/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Weaving of textiles

Sector: Manufacturing

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

14190SIC 14190
46410Wholesale of textiles
47190Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 12.9y

35/100

too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

· Oldest live charge is 12.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 30/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (59/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile

address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)

Directors & officers

25 officers (6 active, 25 linked, 21 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

6 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

216 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

83/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

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

• 2 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filings

• 2 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 2 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (63 events)Click to expand

2026-07-07
📄
replacement-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP01CS01
2026-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-01-06
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-09-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-07-03
➖
BANNERMAN, Nicholas Alastair Charles resigned
director
2024-04-02
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-03-15
➖
URQUHART, Ian George Masson resigned
director
2023-11-09
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2023-11-08
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2023-11-03
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC as Security Agent
2023-11-01
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC as Security Agent
2023-09-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2023-07-05
➖
GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin resigned
secretary
2023-07-05
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-12-06
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2022-12-02
📄
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2022-12-02
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-10-14
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-10-14
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2022-09-21
➕
WALLACE, Johanna Margaret appointed
director
2022-09-21
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-07-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-12-15
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-12-14
➖
COTTON, Simon James resigned
director
2021-09-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2016-04-20
➖
WATERS, Donald Henry resigned
director
2015-05-05
➕
URQUHART, Jennifer Mollie appointed
director
2015-05-05
➕
WIKSTROM, Martha Shaffer appointed
director
2014-03-03
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2014-02-14
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2013-12-12
➖
SUGDEN, James Edward resigned
director
2013-11-04
➕
COTTON, Simon James appointed
director
2013-09-25
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2013-04-03
➖
DRACUP, James Brian Hedley resigned
director
2011-07-29
➖
ARCHIBALD, Graeme Clark resigned
secretary
2011-07-29
➖
ARCHIBALD, Graeme Clark resigned
director
2011-07-05
➕
GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin appointed
secretary
2011-06-20
➕
GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin appointed
director
2010-02-01
➕
BANNERMAN, Nicholas Alastair Charles appointed
director
2005-04-01
➕
URQUHART, Neil Edward appointed
director
2005-03-31
➖
HARRISON, Robert resigned
director
2002-01-01
➕
HARRISON, David Alexander appointed
director
2002-01-01
➕
DRACUP, James Brian Hedley appointed
director
2001-12-21
➖
MONTGOMERY, Donald resigned
director
2001-07-11
➖
HARRISON, John Alexander Don resigned
director
2001-06-04
➖
SANDS, Graeme Craig resigned
director
2000-05-02
➖
HARRISON, Edward Paton resigned
director
1999-03-22
➕
SANDS, Graeme Craig appointed
director

Showing most recent 50 of 63 events

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

-6 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — 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 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 83 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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Jennifer Mollie Urquhart Individual · British · DOB 04/1978 · age 48	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016
Mr Neil Edward Urquhart Individual · British · DOB 06/1975 · age 51	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	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.

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Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · IV postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
GAEL FORCE GROUP LIMITED→ SC229244 · est 2002	£23.82M £18.53M–£29.11M	—	—	1700	24y	80	62y
GAEL FORCE ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC394817 · est 2011	£1.26M £977.0k–£1.54M	—	—	4700	15y	82	62y
HENDRY HYDRAULICS LIMITED→ SC059511 · est 1976	£331.6k £257.9k–£405.3k	—	—	91	50y	87	75y
ANTA SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC156285 · est 1995	—	—	—	30	31y	83	69y
MUIRTON CONTROL & AUTOMATION LTD→ SC395862 · est 2011	—	—	£339.2k	—	15y	83	58y
MUNRO SAWMILLS LTD.→ SC228923 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	83	76y
STRATH PRINT LTD.→ SC205018 · est 2000	—	—	£12.4k	—	26y	83	74y
ABATRON LIMITED→ SC067980 · est 1979 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	47y	82	77y
INVERFAB LTD.→ SC223907 · est 2001	—	—	£558.6k	—	24y	82	80y
MACKAY STEELWORK & CLADDING LIMITED→ SC161195 · est 1995	—	—	£3.98M	—	30y	82	58y
MARINE DIESEL SERVICES (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC172858 · est 1997	—	—	£373.4k	—	29y	82	68y
MORAY PRECAST LIMITED→ SC176648 · est 1997	—	—	£126.9k	—	29y	82	69y

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.

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🔒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

Incorporated1943-09-25

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC13200 — Weaving of textiles

Registered office

Newmill

Elgin

IV30 4AF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-09-30

Last made up to: 2025-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-07-09

Last: 2026-06-25