RATHBURN CHEMICALS (MANUFACTURING) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC057321 · ltd · incorporated 1975-03-07
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.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£147.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 20140
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 35.5y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 35.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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
75
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
134 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £146,983
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,527,678 YoY
Cash YoY
+28%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£821k
↑ 28% YoY
Net Worth
£147k
↓ 91% YoY
Current Assets
£1.8m
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£465k£930k£1.4m£1.9m£2.3mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£552.2k£2.27M
Current assets£1.79M£2.33M
Cash£820.7k£641.2k
Debtors£606.2k£1.32M
Net assets£147.0k£1.67M

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-10
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  2. 2025-10-10
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2025-10-10
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2025-04-22
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  6. 2024-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-08-22
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2020-08-22
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  13. 2020-06-26
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2020-06-26
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  15. 2020-06-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  16. 2020-06-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-09-04
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  19. 2019-09-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  20. 2019-06-27
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  21. 2019-06-27
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  22. 2018-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2015-05-23
    ➖
    MACKAY, Angus Campbell, Dr resigned
    director
  24. 2006-11-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Shielsknowe Forest Limited
  25. 2006-03-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  26. 2006-02-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  27. 2000-03-22
    ➕
    MCMURRAY, Emily Marjory, Dr appointed
    director
  28. 1997-12-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  29. 1997-06-01
    ➕
    LIVINGSTONE, Bronwen Ann appointed
    director
  30. 1995-12-30
    ➕
    MACKENZIE, Alison Jill, Dr appointed
    director
  31. 1995-12-30
    ➖
    MACKAY, Kenneth Livingston resigned
    director
  32. 1990-11-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  33. 1975-03-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As RATHBURN CHEMICALS (MANUFACTURING) LIMITED

Owner dependency

65/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
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 83 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 51 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 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Bronwen Ann Livingstone
Individual · British · DOB 10/1971 · age 55
25–50%
—25-50% shares31/12/2024
Dr Emily Marjory Mcmurray
Individual · British · DOB 11/1978 · age 48
25–50%
—25-50% shares31/12/2024
Dr Alison Jill Mackenzie
Individual · United Kingdom · DOB 01/1969 · age 57
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Reverend Marjory Hunter Mackayceased 31/12/2024· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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 →

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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
Incorporated1975-03-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC20140 — SIC 20140

Registered office

7 Caberston Road
Walkerburn
Peeblesshire
EH43 6AU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-24
Last: 2025-10-10

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

MACKAY, Marjory Hunter, Rev→
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LIVINGSTONE, Bronwen Ann→
director · ~55y · appointed 1997-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKAY, Marjory Hunter, Reverend→
director · ~83y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKENZIE, Alison Jill, Dr→
director · ~57y · appointed 1995-12-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCMURRAY, Emily Marjory, Dr→
director · ~48y · appointed 2000-03-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKAY, Angus Campbell, Dr→
director · ~85y · resigned 2015-05-23
Resigned
MACKAY, Kenneth Livingston→
director · ~84y · resigned 1995-12-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Shielsknowe Forest
Shielsknowe Forest Limited
Standard security1 property21/11/200627/06/2019
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property20/03/200604/09/2019
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property27/02/200622/08/2020
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Standard security1 property15/12/199726/06/2020
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Standard security1 property09/11/199026/06/2020

Recent filings (134 total)

notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-10-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-10-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-10-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-22
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-28