P.R. BARRETT (COMMISSION AGENTS) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC037771 · ltd · incorporated 1962-06-29
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Property-backed borrower with a 88-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 88). 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 35.2y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 35.2 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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
96 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
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£0Jan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Average employees00

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  7. 2021-03-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2021-02-05
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  9. 2021-01-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-10-24
    ➖
    BARRETT, James Patrick resigned
    secretary
  11. 2019-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-10-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-01-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2002-06-24
    ➕
    MEIKLE, Kathleen appointed
    director
  18. 2002-02-11
    ➖
    BARRETT, Ellen resigned
    director
  19. 2000-01-31
    ➖
    BARRETT, Ellen resigned
    secretary
  20. 2000-01-31
    ➕
    BARRETT, James Patrick appointed
    secretary
  21. 1999-08-27
    ➖
    BARRETT, James Patrick resigned
    director
  22. 1999-08-27
    ➖
    BARRETT, Philip Raymond resigned
    director
  23. 1991-02-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  24. 1962-06-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As P.R. BARRETT (COMMISSION AGENTS) LIMITED

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 88 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 88 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 64 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Kathleen Meikle
Individual · British · DOB 03/1938 · age 88
75–100%
—75-100% shares27/10/2020
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr James Patrick Barrettceased 27/10/2020· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting

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

Similar companies

Active · Property · EH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
CODEBASE LTD→
SC437306 · est 2012
—£11.72M—960013y8460y
RETTIE & COMPANY LIMITED→
SC144330 · est 1993
———17933y8766y
CARDROSS ESTATES LIMITED→
SC129609 · est 1991
———035y8563y
10 CABOT SQUARE I UNIT TRUST LP LIMITED→
SC312220 · est 2006
———019y8361y
10 CABOT SQUARE II UNIT TRUST LP LIMITED→
SC312226 · est 2006
———019y8361y
1ST&68TH ENTERPRISES LTD→
SC245182 · est 2003
———20023y8358y
20 CABOT SQUARE I UNIT TRUST LP LIMITED→
SC312214 · est 2006
———019y8361y
20 CABOT SQUARE II UNIT TRUST LP LIMITED→
SC312229 · est 2006
———019y8361y
BRUCE & COMPANY LIMITED→
SC190660 · est 1998
———20027y8363y
BUCCLEUCH PROPERTY (NEWTOWN ST BOSWELLS) LIMITED→
SC341348 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————18y8361y
BUCCLEUCH PROPERTY (SHERIFFHALL SOUTH) LIMITED→
SC327090 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y8361y
WYLES PROPERTY GROUP LTD→
SC869076 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
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

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1962-06-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

109 East Main St
Uphall
West Lothian
EH52 5JA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-14
Last: 2025-12-31

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

MEIKLE, Kathleen→
director · ~88y · appointed 2002-06-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARRETT, Ellen→
secretary · resigned 2000-01-31
Resigned
BARRETT, James Patrick→
secretary · appointed 2000-01-31 · resigned 2020-10-24
Resigned
BARRETT, Ellen→
director · ~115y · resigned 2002-02-11
Resigned
BARRETT, James Patrick→
director · ~86y · resigned 1999-08-27
Resigned
BARRETT, Philip Raymond→
director · ~79y · resigned 1999-08-27
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 Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property22/02/1991—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (96 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-11
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-03-11
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-03-11
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-15