JOHN JOLLY (1978) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC065701 · ltd · incorporated 1978-08-24
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£969.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 50200
Sector: Transportation & storage
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 52220SIC 52220
  • 52241SIC 52241
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 48). 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · oldest 44.2y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 44.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (2/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
84
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 6 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
98 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £969,823
Cash YoY
+98%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£166k
↑ 98% YoY
Net Worth
£970k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£480k
↑ 25% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£194k£388k£582k£776k£970kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£980.3k£880.6k
Current assets£480.3k£385.5k
Cash£165.6k£83.5k
Debtors£314.8k£302.0k
Net assets£969.8k£873.7k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-19
    📄
    capital-cancellation-shares
    capital · SH06
  4. 2024-06-19
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  5. 2024-06-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2024-06-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2024-06-13
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  8. 2024-05-17
    ➖
    SPENCE, James William, Chairman resigned
    director
  9. 2023-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-01-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2019-07-04
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2019-07-04
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  17. 2019-07-01
    ➖
    ANDERSON, Michael Robert resigned
    director
  18. 2019-07-01
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Bruce resigned
    director
  19. 2018-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  20. 2018-03-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  21. 2007-10-03
    ➕
    SPENCE, Steven Henry Paplay appointed
    secretary
  22. 2007-10-02
    ➖
    SPENCE, James William Paplay resigned
    secretary
  23. 2007-10-02
    ➖
    SPENCE, James William Paplay resigned
    director
  24. 2003-10-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  25. 2002-10-01
    ➕
    SPENCE, Steven Henry Paplay appointed
    director
  26. 2002-10-01
    ➕
    ANDERSON, Michael Robert appointed
    director
  27. 2002-10-01
    ➕
    SPENCE, James William Paplay appointed
    director
  28. 2002-10-01
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Bruce appointed
    director
  29. 2000-09-16
    ➕
    SPENCE, James William Paplay appointed
    secretary
  30. 2000-09-15
    ➖
    SPENCE, Margaret Paplay resigned
    secretary
  31. 2000-09-15
    ➖
    SPENCE, Margaret Paplay resigned
    director
  32. 1988-10-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  33. 1987-09-18
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  34. 1983-12-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Aircraft mortgage
  35. 1982-02-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  36. 1978-08-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JOHN JOLLY (1978) LIMITED

Owner dependency

85/100
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.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • 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 48 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
Director Steven Henry Paplay Spence
Individual · British · DOB 03/1978 · age 48
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · firm interest06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Chairman James William Spenceceased 17/05/2024· 50-75% shares · board control · significant influence · firm interest

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

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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
Incorporated1978-08-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC50200 — SIC 50200

Registered office

Unit 1 Kiln Corner
Ayre Road
Kirkwall
KW15 1QX
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-10
Last: 2025-12-27

Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)

SPENCE, Steven Henry Paplay→
secretary · appointed 2007-10-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, Steven Henry Paplay→
director · ~48y · appointed 2002-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, James William Paplay→
secretary · appointed 2000-09-16 · resigned 2007-10-02
Resigned
SPENCE, Margaret Paplay→
secretary · resigned 2000-09-15
Resigned
ANDERSON, Michael Robert→
director · ~76y · appointed 2002-10-01 · resigned 2019-07-01
Resigned
SPENCE, James William Paplay→
director · ~50y · appointed 2002-10-01 · resigned 2007-10-02
Resigned
SPENCE, James William, Chairman→
director · ~81y · resigned 2024-05-17
Resigned
SPENCE, Margaret Paplay→
director · ~78y · resigned 2000-09-15
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Bruce→
director · ~76y · appointed 2002-10-01 · resigned 2019-07-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property03/10/1988—
satisfied
Unknown
Aircraft mortgage1 property15/12/198318/09/1987
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property09/02/198208/10/2003
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (98 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-24
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2024-06-19
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2024-06-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-13
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-06-13
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-06-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-11