HOLMSCROFT H. C. LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC068595 · ltd · incorporated 1979-06-19

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.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Sept 2024

Net worth

£382.7k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Dispensing chemist in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 44.6y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 44.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

22 officers (8 active, 22 linked, 11 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)

Director network

7 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

134 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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 £382,717

Net assets shrinking

Down £35,219 YoY

Cash YoY

-21%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£291k

↓ 21% YoY

Net Worth

£383k

↓ 8.4% YoY

Current Assets

£714k

↓ 8.3% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Total assets	£432.6k	£473.3k
Current assets	£713.7k	£778.7k
Cash	£291.3k	£369.5k
Debtors	£337.6k	£331.0k
Net assets	£382.7k	£417.9k

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (45 events)Click to expand

2025-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-07
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-03-07
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2022-07-05
📄
change-corporate-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH02
2022-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2021-01-20
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2021-01-19
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-12-21
➖
LLOYDS PHARMACY LTD resigned
corporate-director
2020-05-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-15
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2020-05-01
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2020-04-28
📄
change-corporate-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH02
2020-04-23
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-04-21
➖
BOOTS UK LIMITED resigned
corporate-director
2019-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-02-11
📄
appoint-corporate-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP02
2019-02-06
➕
TESCO SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2019-02-06
➖
TESCO STORES LIMITED resigned
corporate-director
2015-03-26
➕
MCANERNEY, Edward Raymond appointed
secretary
2015-03-26
➖
MCDADE, Martin resigned
secretary
2010-03-31
➕
CLYDE PHARMACY LTD appointed
corporate-director
2010-03-31
➖
RAE, James Falconer resigned
director
2010-03-23
➕
MCDADE, Martin James appointed
director
2010-03-23
➕
AC STILL LTD appointed
corporate-director
2010-03-23
➖
MCDADE, James O'Neill resigned
director
2010-03-23
➖
STILL, Arthur Cameron resigned
director
2006-03-11
➖
FOULDS, Alexander Ritchie resigned
secretary
2006-03-11
➕
MCDADE, Martin appointed
secretary
2001-03-04
➖
COWAN, Ian Campbell resigned
director
2001-03-04
➕
LLOYDS PHARMACY LTD appointed
corporate-director
2001-03-04
➖
SAVORY+MOORE LTD. resigned
corporate-director
1999-04-01
➕
RAE, James Falconer appointed
director
1999-02-28
➖
IRVINE, James resigned
director
1996-05-09
➖
FISHER, Josephine Edwardine resigned
director
1996-05-09
➖
STAGG, Brian resigned
director
1995-06-22
➕
HAGAN, Aileen Amanda appointed
director
1995-06-22
➕
TESCO STORES LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
1993-11-29
➕
MCANERNEY, Edward Raymond appointed
director
1993-11-29
➖
ANDERSON, Anne Catherine resigned
director
1981-10-13
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
1979-06-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As HOLMSCROFT H. C. LIMITED

Owner dependency

81/100

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

-7 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LIMITED" — 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.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
+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 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 47 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.)

🔒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 · Retail · PA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
COWAL BUILDING & PLUMBING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC080544 · est 1982	£199.8k £149.9k–£249.8k	—	—	74	43y	85	75y
CAMPBELLS OF ISLAY LTD→ SC630925 · est 2019	£21.5k £16.1k–£26.9k	—	—	800	6y	88	37y
GUITAR GUITAR LIMITED→ SC247523 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	83	75y
ANGELLINE (SCOTLAND) LTD.→ SC385592 · est 2010	—	—	—	0	15y	82	61y
ARMYCHAP LIMITED→ SC274762 · est 2004	—	—	—	0	21y	82	61y
BLAIRMORE HERITAGE LIMITED→ SC263059 · est 2004	—	—	£35.6k	—	22y	82	72y
BOWMORE FILLING STATION LIMITED→ SC259944 · est 2003	—	—	£208.8k	—	22y	82	64y
CLYDE PHARMACY LIMITED→ SC273095 · est 2004	—	—	—	11	21y	82	61y
COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL CLEANING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC292909 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	82	62y
DALLAS CARPETS SCOTLAND LTD.→ SC239903 · est 2002	—	—	£467.7k	—	23y	82	60y
GRAMPIAN SPORTS LIMITED→ SC038433 · est 1963 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	63y	82	64y
HILLY AND BOO LIMITED→ SC332582 · est 2007	—	—	£11.0k	—	18y	82	76y

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1979-06-19

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47730 — Dispensing chemist in specialised stores

Registered office

73 Union Street

Greenock

PA16 8BG

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-06-30

Last made up to: 2024-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-07

Last: 2026-03-24