STEPHENS & SMITH LTD.
⚰️Wound downdissolved
SC030303 · ltd · incorporated 1954-10-01
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 45.2y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
64/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 5190
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 64/100 (worth a look), 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: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 45.2y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 45.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: low (50/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
8 connected companies via shared directors
69
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
64/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
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 (37 events)Click to expand
- 2010-03-19📄gazette-dissolved-voluntarygazette · GAZ2(A)
- 2010-03-19🏁Company dissolved
- 2009-11-27📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2009-11-18📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2009-06-24📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2008-09-02📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2008-08-11📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2007-09-03📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2007-08-31📄legacyofficers · 288b
- 2007-06-30➖WISHART, George Brian Hood resigneddirector
- 2007-06-26📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2006-09-19📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2006-08-30📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2006-08-24📄legacyofficers · 288a
- 2006-08-24📄legacyofficers · 288b
- 2006-08-18➕LAW, Robert Reid appointedsecretary
- 2006-08-18➖THOMSON, David Andrew resignedsecretary
- 2005-09-21📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2005-09-21📍legacyaddress · 353
- 2005-09-05📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2004-09-03📄legacyannual-return · 363s
- 2004-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2004-02-01📄legacyofficers · 288c
- 2003-09-06📄legacyannual-return · 363s
- 2003-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2002-09-06📄legacyannual-return · 363s
- 2002-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2001-09-05📄legacyannual-return · 363s
- 2001-06-21📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 1997-07-30➕PATERSON-BROWN, Kenneth Wishart appointeddirector
- 1997-07-30➕THOMSON, David Andrew appointedsecretary
- 1997-06-30➖WISHART, David Fraser resignedsecretary
- 1997-06-30➖WISHART, David Fraser resigneddirector
- 1996-03-28➕MILLER, Tom appointeddirector
- 1990-11-06🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 1981-03-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1954-10-01🏢Company incorporatedAs STEPHENS & SMITH LTD.
Owner dependency
83/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 98 — 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 candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 98 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 72 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 high ·Company dissolved
highCompany has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2010-03-19
🔒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 · Transport & logistics · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIMBERBUSH TOURS LIMITED→ SC279983 · est 2005 | £8.60M £6.45M–£10.75M | — | — | 109 | 21y | 85 | 65y |
| EAGLE COURIERS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC292831 · est 2005 | £3.09M £2.32M–£3.86M | — | — | — | 20y | 87 | 61y |
| EAGLE COURIERS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC092113 · est 1985 | £3.09M £2.32M–£3.86M | — | — | 50 | 41y | 87 | 61y |
| A WILLIAMSON HAULAGE LIMITED→ SC306338 · est 2006 | — | — | £1.27M | — | 19y | 82 | 78y |
| A. JOHNSTONE HAULAGE LTD.→ SC283850 · est 2005 | — | — | £512.2k | — | 21y | 82 | 62y |
| ANDREW BLACK LIMITED→ SC224735 · est 2001 | — | — | £3.88M | — | 24y | 82 | 64y |
| BROUGHTON REMOVALS LIMITED→ SC181756 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | 82 | 83y |
| CHAUFFEUR DRIVE SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC394052 · est 2011 | — | — | £231.3k | — | 15y | 82 | 65y |
| DEREK HEEPS LIMITED→ SC167126 · est 1996 | — | — | — | 3000 | 29y | 82 | 63y |
| DUNBAR REMOVALS AND STORAGE LTD.→ SC165409 · est 1996 | — | — | — | 13 | 30y | 82 | 71y |
| E & M HORSBURGH LIMITED→ SC205341 · est 2000 | — | — | — | — | 26y | 82 | 66y |
| GORDON CONNOR HAULAGE LIMITED→ SC260191 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 100 | 22y | 82 | 63y |
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.
See pricing →Company details
Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated1954-10-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC5190 — SIC 5190
Registered office
PO BOX 208
St Clair Street
Edinburgh
EH6 8LJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2008-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —
Officers (0 active · 4 resigned)
Active
Active
Active
PATERSON-BROWN, Kenneth Wishart→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 1997-07-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMSON, David Andrew→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1997-07-30 · resigned 2006-08-18
WISHART, David Fraser→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1997-06-30
WISHART, David Fraser→
Resigneddirector · ~95y · resigned 1997-06-30
WISHART, George Brian Hood→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · resigned 2007-06-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 18/03/1981 | 06/11/1990 |
Recent filings (71 total)
gazette-dissolved-voluntary
gazette · GAZ2(A)
2010-03-19
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2009-11-27
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2009-11-18
accounts-with-made-up-date
accounts · AA
2009-06-24
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2008-09-02
accounts-with-made-up-date
accounts · AA
2008-08-11
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2007-09-03
legacy
officers · 288b
2007-08-31
accounts-with-made-up-date
accounts · AA
2007-06-26
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2006-09-19
accounts-with-made-up-date
accounts · AA
2006-08-30
legacy
officers · 288a
2006-08-24
legacy
officers · 288b
2006-08-24
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2005-09-21
legacy
address · 353
2005-09-21