JOHNNY RUTHERFORD CONTRACTORS (HUTTON) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC034005 · ltd · incorporated 1959-05-15
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Landscape service activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 41.6y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 41.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
100 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Average employees5400

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-02-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-02-28
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  10. 2018-02-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2018-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-03-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-03-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-01-23
    ➕
    RUTHERFORD, Stuart Cameron appointed
    secretary
  17. 2015-01-23
    ➕
    RUTHERFORD, Stuart Cameron appointed
    director
  18. 2015-01-23
    ➖
    RUTHERFORD, Joan resigned
    director
  19. 2015-01-23
    ➖
    RUTHERFORD, John resigned
    director
  20. 2011-09-30
    ➖
    RUTHERFORD, Richard John resigned
    secretary
  21. 2011-09-30
    ➖
    RUTHERFORD, Richard John resigned
    director
  22. 2007-06-15
    ➖
    LAMB, Alan Mackintosh resigned
    secretary
  23. 2007-06-15
    ➕
    RUTHERFORD, Richard John appointed
    secretary
  24. 1984-11-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  25. 1959-05-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JOHNNY RUTHERFORD CONTRACTORS (HUTTON) LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "RUTHERFORD" — strong identity link between founder and business.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 67 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stuart Cameron Rutherford
Individual · British · DOB 09/1975 · age 51
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mrs Catherine Rutherford
Individual · British · DOB 06/1974 · age 52
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting08/02/2018

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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04722309 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
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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
Incorporated1959-05-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC81300 — Landscape service activities

Registered office

Hutton Crofts
Hutton
Berwick Upon Tweed
TD15 1TS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-19
Last: 2026-03-05

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

RUTHERFORD, Stuart Cameron→
secretary · appointed 2015-01-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUTHERFORD, Stuart Cameron→
director · ~51y · appointed 2015-01-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAMB, Alan Mackintosh→
secretary · resigned 2007-06-15
Resigned
RUTHERFORD, Richard John→
secretary · appointed 2007-06-15 · resigned 2011-09-30
Resigned
RUTHERFORD, Joan→
director · ~88y · resigned 2015-01-23
Resigned
RUTHERFORD, John→
director · ~95y · resigned 2015-01-23
Resigned
RUTHERFORD, Richard John→
director · ~67y · resigned 2011-09-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property01/11/1984—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (100 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-05