HIGHLAND METALS LIMITED

📉Decliningactive
SC061436 · ltd · incorporated 1976-12-31
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.
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "declining"
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Conservative operator with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (78/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 42.1y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 42.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 20/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
18 officers (6 active, 18 linked, 15 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
128 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Profitable
Profit before tax £1,283,695

Key financials

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

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Profit before tax£1.28M£1.95M
Average employees353400

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (42 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-30
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  4. 2024-01-24
    ➕
    MACINTOSH, John Sheridon appointed
    director
  5. 2023-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-02-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2021-01-31
    ➖
    CROWLEY, Geoffrey Stewart resigned
    director
  10. 2020-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-01-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-01-08
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  17. 2016-01-08
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2015-12-11
    ➕
    ASHMEAD, Allan Cameron appointed
    director
  19. 2015-12-11
    ➕
    ASHMEAD, Jennifer Dawn, Dr appointed
    director
  20. 2015-12-11
    ➖
    ASHMEAD, Douglas resigned
    director
  21. 2011-08-03
    ➕
    BULLOCH, Gordon Campbell appointed
    director
  22. 2008-12-07
    ➖
    MASSEY, William Joseph resigned
    director
  23. 2008-09-10
    ➕
    STEEL, Robin Gray appointed
    secretary
  24. 2008-09-10
    ➖
    MASSEY, William Joseph resigned
    secretary
  25. 2005-12-31
    ➖
    DAWSON, David Robbins resigned
    director
  26. 2004-11-11
    ➕
    DAWSON, David Robbins appointed
    director
  27. 2003-11-06
    ➖
    PORTERFIELD, Alan Miller resigned
    director
  28. 2003-04-23
    ➖
    PARKINSON, Michael Abner resigned
    director
  29. 2003-04-01
    ➕
    STEEL, Robin Gray appointed
    director
  30. 2000-04-01
    ➕
    PORTERFIELD, Alan Miller appointed
    director
  31. 1999-02-03
    ➕
    CROWLEY, Geoffrey Stewart appointed
    director
  32. 1997-01-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  33. 1995-06-16
    ➖
    PETRIE, William Sinclair Laughton resigned
    director
  34. 1995-03-31
    ➕
    PETRIE, William Sinclair Laughton appointed
    director
  35. 1995-03-31
    ➖
    SMITH, David Cyril resigned
    director
  36. 1994-04-29
    ➖
    SMITH, Alan Boyter resigned
    secretary
  37. 1994-03-31
    ➖
    SMITH, Alan Boyter resigned
    director
  38. 1992-06-05
    ➖
    WATT, Peter Henry resigned
    director
  39. 1990-09-05
    ➕
    WATT, Peter Henry appointed
    director
  40. 1988-12-22
    ➕
    MASSEY, William Joseph appointed
    director
  41. 1984-03-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  42. 1976-12-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HIGHLAND METALS LIMITED

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • -5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

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 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

Highland Metal Developments Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Highland Metal Developments Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
HIGHLAND METALS LIMITED
This company · SC061436

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Highland Metal Developments Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares18/12/2016

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

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——42622y8468y
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SC135278 · est 1991
£5.10M
£3.64M–£6.56M
——6534y8875y
HIGHLAND DEEPHAVEN LIMITED→
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£1.97M
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——454y8371y
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——£10.4k—23y8368y
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——£2.04M—24y8365y
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————18y——
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
Incorporated1976-12-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Pinefield Industrial Estate
Elgin
Moray
IV30 6FG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-01
Last: 2025-12-18

Officers (6 active · 12 resigned)

STEEL, Robin Gray→
secretary · appointed 2008-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ASHMEAD, Allan Cameron→
director · ~68y · appointed 2015-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ASHMEAD, Jennifer Dawn, Dr→
director · ~61y · appointed 2015-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BULLOCH, Gordon Campbell→
director · ~51y · appointed 2011-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACINTOSH, John Sheridon→
director · ~43y · appointed 2024-01-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STEEL, Robin Gray→
director · ~71y · appointed 2003-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MASSEY, William Joseph→
secretary · resigned 2008-09-10
Resigned
SMITH, Alan Boyter→
secretary · resigned 1994-04-29
Resigned
ASHMEAD, Douglas→
director · ~100y · resigned 2015-12-11
Resigned
CROWLEY, Geoffrey Stewart→
director · ~69y · appointed 1999-02-03 · resigned 2021-01-31
Resigned
DAWSON, David Robbins→
director · ~69y · appointed 2004-11-11 · resigned 2005-12-31
Resigned
MASSEY, William Joseph→
director · ~104y · appointed 1988-12-22 · resigned 2008-12-07
Resigned
PARKINSON, Michael Abner→
director · ~83y · resigned 2003-04-23
Resigned
PETRIE, William Sinclair Laughton→
director · ~72y · appointed 1995-03-31 · resigned 1995-06-16
Resigned
PORTERFIELD, Alan Miller→
director · ~78y · appointed 2000-04-01 · resigned 2003-11-06
Resigned
SMITH, Alan Boyter→
director · ~98y · resigned 1994-03-31
Resigned
SMITH, David Cyril→
director · ~93y · resigned 1995-03-31
Resigned
WATT, Peter Henry→
director · ~77y · appointed 1990-09-05 · resigned 1992-06-05
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property28/03/198408/01/1997

Recent filings (128 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-10
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-18