JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC064099 · ltd · incorporated 1978-02-16
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: dormant / non-trading with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (55/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
98 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
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 (27 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-07➕GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin appointeddirector
- 2022-07-07📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-06-27📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2021-12-15📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-12-14➖COTTON, Simon James resigneddirector
- 2021-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2013-12-12➕COTTON, Simon James appointeddirector
- 2013-12-12➖SUGDEN, James Edward resigneddirector
- 2011-07-06➕GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin appointedsecretary
- 2011-07-06➖ARCHIBALD, Graeme Clark resignedsecretary
- 2001-09-17➕SUGDEN, James Edward appointeddirector
- 2001-07-11➖HARRISON, John Alexander Don resigneddirector
- 1992-03-01➕ARCHIBALD, Graeme Clark appointedsecretary
- 1992-03-01➖QUIRIE, Edward Ian Ernest resignedsecretary
- 1991-05-31➕QUIRIE, Edward Ian Ernest appointedsecretary
- 1978-02-16🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN LIMITED
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 48 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
2 corporate shareholders identified. Group structure is distributed.
🏛️ultimate parent
James Johnston & Co. Of Elgin Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
🏛️ultimate parent
James Johnston & Co Of Elgin Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN LIMITED
This company · SC064099
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
James Johnston & Co. Of Elgin Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
James Johnston & Co Of Elgin Limited Corporate entity | 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 · Holding company · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RUSSELL HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC179461 · est 1997 | £1.75M £1.49M–£2.02M | — | £1.75M | — | 28y | 82 | 61y |
| CARLTON BINGO LIMITED→ SC267599 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | 83 | 73y |
| CARLTON GAMING LIMITED→ SC223000 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | 83 | 73y |
| BADACHRO INN LIMITED→ SC302605 · est 2006 | — | — | — | — | 19y | 82 | 72y |
| GAEL FORCE AQUAHOMES LTD→ SC231902 · est 2002 | — | — | — | — | 23y | 82 | 62y |
| DALCROMBIE ESTATE LIMITED→ SC321223 · est 2007 | — | — | — | 0 | 19y | 81 | 91y |
| MIDDLETON, ROSS & ARNOT (TRUSTEES) LIMITED→ SC193332 · est 1999 | — | — | — | — | 27y | 81 | 75y |
| SEA SKYE LIMITED→ SC300936 · est 2006 | — | — | — | — | 20y | 81 | 62y |
| A E S SOLAR LTD.→ SC249497 · est 2003 | — | — | — | — | 22y | 80 | 85y |
| ACRELODGE LIMITED→ SC388122 · est 2010 | — | — | — | 0 | 15y | 80 | 84y |
| SLD GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC625966 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| STEELWORK & CLADDING LIMITED→ SC226331 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1978-02-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
Registered office
Newmill
Elgin
Moray
IV30 4AF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-07
Last: 2025-10-24
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin→
Activesecretary · appointed 2011-07-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GAFFNEY, Christopher James Martin→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2022-07-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ARCHIBALD, Graeme Clark→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-03-01 · resigned 2011-07-06
QUIRIE, Edward Ian Ernest→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1991-05-31 · resigned 1992-03-01
COTTON, Simon James→
Resigneddirector · ~57y · appointed 2013-12-12 · resigned 2021-12-14
HARRISON, John Alexander Don→
Resigneddirector · ~94y · resigned 2001-07-11
SUGDEN, James Edward→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · appointed 2001-09-17 · resigned 2013-12-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (98 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-12
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-07-07
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2022-06-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-10-05