JOHN GUNN & SONS LIMITED
- · Oldest live charge 26.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (70/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 26.6y
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 26.6 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.
- · Profitable and stable/growing — lender coverage supportable.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Profit before tax | £7.36M | £4.17M |
| Average employees | 4400 | 4200 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
3 signals 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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2025-07-16📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2025-07-14📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-05-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-23📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2021-03-23📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-03-02➖SUTHERLAND, David Donald resignedsecretary
- 2021-03-02➖SUTHERLAND, David Donald resigneddirector
- 2020-04-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-29📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2017-11-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-06-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-13➖GUNN, David William resigneddirector
- 1999-09-13🔒Charge registered #2Lender: John Adam Henderson & Jill Barbara Henderson
- 1998-09-11➕GUNN, Ian George appointeddirector
- 1990-12-23➕SUTHERLAND, David Donald appointeddirector
- 1990-09-19➖GUNN, George resigneddirector
- 1953-04-14🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHN GUNN & SONS LIMITED
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GUNN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 73 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
cleanGroup structure
John Gunn & Sons (Holdings) Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John Gunn & Sons (Holdings) Ltd Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 14/07/2025 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Ian George Gunnceased 14/07/2025· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | John Adam Henderson & Jill Barbara Henderson | Standard security | 1 property | 13/09/1999 | — |