ORKNEY FERRIES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC036770 · ltd · incorporated 1961-09-01

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.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£8.88M

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 50100

Sector: Transportation & storage

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -33% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 56.8y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 56.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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

Lenders & charges

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

Directors & officers

57 officers (6 active, 57 linked, 45 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

204 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £8,880,855

Cash YoY

-33%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£546k

↓ 33% YoY

Net Worth

£8.9m

↑ 20% YoY

Current Assets

£16m

↑ 67% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£12.50M	£6.77M
Current assets	£15.61M	£9.37M
Cash	£546.3k	£820.9k
Debtors	£14.89M	£8.36M
Net assets	£8.88M	£7.39M

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (120 events)Click to expand

2025-11-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2024-12-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-03
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-08-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-10-04
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-18
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-18
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-18
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-08-18
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-06-17
➕
HALL, Peter Lindsay appointed
director
2022-06-17
➕
PEACE, Raymond Stockan appointed
director
2022-06-17
➕
TAYLOR, Ivan Alexander appointed
director
2022-06-17
➕
THOMSON, Mellissa-Louise appointed
director
2022-06-17
➕
WOODBRIDGE, Heather Nicola appointed
director
2022-05-04
➖
CLACKSON, Stephen Gregory, Dr resigned
director
2022-05-04
➖
DAWSON, David resigned
director
2022-05-04
➖
DREVER, Andrew resigned
director
2022-05-04
➖
THOMSON, Magnus Olaf resigned
director
2022-05-04
➖
TIERNEY, Owen resigned
director
2021-09-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2020-09-16
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-09-16
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-08-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2020-07-02
➕
DAWSON, David appointed
director
2020-04-19
➖
WOODBRIDGE, Kevin Francis, Dr resigned
director
2017-10-30
➕
MITCHELL, Gavin Rattray appointed
secretary
2017-10-30
➖
SHEARER, Sheila Mary resigned
secretary
2017-06-15
➖
ANNAL, Janice resigned
director
2017-06-15
➕
CLACKSON, Stephen Gregory, Dr appointed
director
2017-06-15
➖
CRICHTON, Robin William resigned
director
2017-06-15
➕
DREVER, Andrew appointed
director
2017-06-15
➖
HAGAN, Stephen resigned
director
2017-06-15
➖
SINCLAIR, Graeme Luke resigned
director
2017-06-15
➕
THOMSON, Magnus Olaf appointed
director
2017-06-15
➕
WOODBRIDGE, Kevin Francis, Dr appointed
director
2015-09-17
➕
SHEARER, Sheila Mary appointed
secretary
2015-09-16
➖
BELL, Malcolm Fraser resigned
secretary
2013-06-24
➕
BELL, Malcolm Fraser appointed
secretary
2013-06-24
➖
ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL resigned
corporate-secretary
2012-05-30
➕
HAGAN, Stephen appointed
director
2012-05-30
➖
MADGE, Russell Paul resigned
director
2012-05-30
➕
TIERNEY, Owen appointed
director
2012-01-05
➖
ECCLES, John resigned
director
2011-10-07
➕
ANNAL, Janice appointed
director

Showing most recent 50 of 120 events

Owner dependency

55/100

Moderate — manageable with handover

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

FACTORS

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100

Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 65 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Orkney Islands Council Individual	75–100%	—	75-100% 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.

See pricing →

Similar companies

Active · Transport & logistics · KW postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
MCADIE & REEVE LIMITED→ SC320832 · est 2007	—	—	—	—	19y	83	60y
ORKNEY MARINAS LIMITED→ SC215601 · est 2001	—	—	—	4	25y	81	80y
CAITHNESS SEACOAST LTD→ SC291271 · est 2005	—	—	£25.4k	—	20y	80	67y
JOHN O'GROATS FERRIES LIMITED→ SC144259 · est 1993	—	—	£389.4k	—	33y	80	88y
PENTLAND FERRIES→ SC171283 · est 1997 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	80	64y
MEIKLEJOHNS TAXIS LIMITED→ SC439983 · est 2013	—	—	£241.8k	—	13y	79	64y
AAM HAULAGE LTD→ SC517958 · est 2015	—	—	—	100	10y	78	66y
LITTLEJOHN REMOVALS LIMITED→ SC541126 · est 2016	—	—	£49.5k	—	9y	78	62y
RENDALL HAULAGE SERVICES LTD→ SC531106 · est 2016	—	—	—	0	10y	78	61y
ROBERT CRAIGIE LTD→ SC433995 · est 2012	—	—	—	100	13y	78	61y
JOHN JOLLY (1978) LIMITED→ SC065701 · est 1978	—	—	£969.8k	—	47y	77	48y
ORBITAL SHAREHOLDING LTD→ SC400455 · est 2011	—	—	—	0	15y	77	49y

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

Incorporated1961-09-01

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC50100 — SIC 50100

Registered office

Council Offices

Kirkwall

Orkney

KW15 1NY

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-15

Last: 2025-12-01