FRANK L. JOHNSTON (SHETLAND) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC066562 · ltd · incorporated 1978-12-07
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 47.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.22M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 84-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 84). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · oldest 47.3y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 47.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
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
4 officers (4 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
109 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
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 £1,220,303
Cash YoY
+4%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£567k
↑ 4.1% YoY
Net Worth
£1.2m
↑ 3.1% YoY
Current Assets
£951k
↑ 2.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£244k£488k£732k£976k£1.2mDec 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£1.40M£1.36M
Current assets£951.0k£925.7k
Cash£567.1k£544.9k
Debtors£329.9k£307.7k
Net assets£1.22M£1.18M

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-05-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-09-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2014-09-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-08-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2013-12-11
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  16. 2012-11-30
    ➕
    JOHNSTON, Caroline Ann appointed
    director
  17. 1994-09-15
    ➕
    JOHNSTON, Phillip James appointed
    director
  18. 1994-05-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  19. 1993-09-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  20. 1990-09-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  21. 1986-10-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  22. 1986-02-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  23. 1986-01-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  24. 1980-06-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  25. 1979-02-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  26. 1978-12-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FRANK L. JOHNSTON (SHETLAND) LIMITED

Owner dependency

98/100
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 "JOHNSTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 84 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

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 84 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 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

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
Caroline Ann Johnston
Individual · British · DOB 11/1978 · age 48
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Frank Laurence Johnston
Individual · British · DOB 12/1942 · age 84
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Phillip James Johnston
Individual · British · DOB 01/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated1978-12-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC77320 — Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment

Registered office

Green Acres
Gott
Shetland
ZE2 9SG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-25
Last: 2025-09-11

Officers (4 active · 0 resigned)

JOHNSTON, Caroline Ann→
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTON, Caroline Ann→
director · ~64y · appointed 2012-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTON, Frank Laurence→
director · ~84y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTON, Phillip James→
director · ~60y · appointed 1994-09-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Letter of offset1 property09/10/1986—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property26/02/198608/09/1993
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property24/01/198626/09/1990
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property19/06/198003/05/1994
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property22/02/1979—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (109 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-09-14