CRAWBIRD TRUSTEE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC052573 · ltd · incorporated 1973-03-19

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Apr 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Activities of head offices

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

19 officers (4 active, 19 linked, 15 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

11 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

138 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-04-30	2024-04-30

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (41 events)Click to expand

2025-12-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-18
📄
change-corporate-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH02
2022-07-18
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2021-09-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-11-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-01-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-09-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2017-08-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2015-09-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2015-07-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2013-08-02
➖
PIGNATELLI, Paul Francis resigned
director
2011-09-01
➕
RAE, Simon Scott appointed
director
2011-09-01
➕
WALLACE, Andrew appointed
director
2011-09-01
➕
PIGNATELLI, Paul Francis appointed
director
2000-08-05
➖
GARDINER, John resigned
director
2000-08-04
➖
DEVINE, Joan Gabrielle resigned
director
2000-08-03
➕
DLA PIPER UK NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2000-08-03
➖
THOMSON, David resigned
director
2000-07-31
➕
SECRETAR SECURITIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2000-07-31
➖
BIRD SEMPLE resigned
corporate-secretary
1998-07-15
➖
CUBIE, Andrew, Dr resigned
director
1998-07-15
➖
GILLIES, Malcolm John resigned
director
1998-07-15
➖
RADCLIFFE, Morag Lennie resigned
director
1998-07-15
➖
SIMPSON, Peter John Hugh resigned
director
1998-07-15
➖
WILSON, Alistair Johnston resigned
director
1998-01-07
➕
DEVINE, Joan Gabrielle appointed
director
1998-01-07
➕
THOMSON, David appointed
director
1997-12-15
➖
MCIVER O.B.E, Malcolm resigned
director
1994-02-01
➕
BIRD SEMPLE appointed
corporate-secretary
1993-05-13
➕
GILLIES, Malcolm John appointed
director
1992-04-30
➖
CAMPBELL, James Hugh resigned
director
1990-10-31
➖
SEMPLE, David resigned
director
1990-04-30
➕
GARDINER, John appointed
director
1990-04-25
➖
MACFARLANE, John resigned
director
1988-07-07
➖
QUILL SERVE LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1973-03-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As CRAWBIRD TRUSTEE 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

+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LIMITED" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 53 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.)

Group structure

Dla Piper International Nominees Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Dla Piper International Nominees Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

CRAWBIRD TRUSTEE LIMITED

This company · SC052573

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
Dla Piper International Nominees Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	07/07/2016

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 · Professional services · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES EDINBURGH LIMITED→ SC091725 · est 1985	£131.60M £96.97M–£166.24M	£135.39M	—	135900	41y	85	67y
ROBERTSON EDUCATION (ABERDEENSHIRE) HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC209010 · est 2000	£5.47M £4.03M–£6.91M	—	—	0	25y	85	60y
DSF (2003) LIMITED→ SC144009 · est 1993	£4.70M £3.46M–£5.93M	—	—	7	33y	87	61y
FCC (EAST AYRSHIRE) HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC300470 · est 2006	£3.99M £2.94M–£5.03M	—	—	0	20y	87	60y
NWH HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC303441 · est 2006	£3.67M £2.70M–£4.64M	—	—	373	19y	88	61y
BLYTH & BLYTH CONSULTING ENGINEERS LIMITED→ SC241155 · est 2002	£2.78M £2.05M–£3.52M	—	—	93	23y	87	85y
SIBCAS LIMITED→ SC052604 · est 1973	£1.88M £1.39M–£2.38M	—	—	165	53y	88	68y
HORIZON (GP) LIMITED→ SC493523 · est 2014	£45.2k £33.3k–£57.1k	—	—	6	11y	95	66y
BURNDENE INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC015613 · est 1929	£14.3k £10.5k–£18.0k	—	—	0	96y	83	63y
3 ED HOLDINGS 2 LIMITED→ SC328040 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	83	65y
ABACUS FINANCIAL MARKETING LIMITED→ SC197503 · est 1999	—	—	£3.4k	—	26y	83	59y
ACCOUNTING & TAXATION SERVICE LTD→ SC360357 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	83	58y

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

Incorporated1973-03-19

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC70100 — Activities of head offices

Registered office

Collins House

Rutland Square

Edinburgh

EH1 2AA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-21

Last: 2025-07-07

Officers (4 active · 15 resigned)

SECRETAR SECURITIES LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2000-07-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RAE, Simon Scott→

director · ~54y · appointed 2011-09-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WALLACE, Andrew→

director · ~65y · appointed 2011-09-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DLA PIPER UK NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2000-08-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BIRD SEMPLE→

corporate-secretary · appointed 1994-02-01 · resigned 2000-07-31

Resigned

QUILL SERVE LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · resigned 1988-07-07

Resigned

CAMPBELL, James Hugh→

director · ~100y · resigned 1992-04-30

Resigned

CUBIE, Andrew, Dr→

director · ~80y · resigned 1998-07-15

Resigned

DEVINE, Joan Gabrielle→

director · ~60y · appointed 1998-01-07 · resigned 2000-08-04

Resigned

GARDINER, John→

director · ~70y · appointed 1990-04-30 · resigned 2000-08-05

Resigned

GILLIES, Malcolm John→

director · ~76y · appointed 1993-05-13 · resigned 1998-07-15

Resigned

MACFARLANE, John→

director · ~77y · resigned 1990-04-25

Resigned

MCIVER O.B.E, Malcolm→

director · ~91y · resigned 1997-12-15

Resigned

PIGNATELLI, Paul Francis→

director · ~56y · appointed 2011-09-01 · resigned 2013-08-02

Resigned

RADCLIFFE, Morag Lennie→

director · ~70y · resigned 1998-07-15

Resigned

SEMPLE, David→

director · ~83y · resigned 1990-10-31

Resigned

SIMPSON, Peter John Hugh→

director · ~81y · resigned 1998-07-15

Resigned

THOMSON, David→

director · ~62y · appointed 1998-01-07 · resigned 2000-08-03

Resigned

WILSON, Alistair Johnston→

director · ~81y · resigned 1998-07-15

Resigned

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

Recent filings (138 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2025-12-09

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-07-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2024-12-18

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-07-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2023-10-19

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-07-13

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2022-10-20

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-07-20

change-corporate-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH02

2022-07-18

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC05

2022-07-18

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2021-09-13

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-07-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2020-11-02

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2020-07-13

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2020-01-27