MCGREGOR BALFOUR (SALES) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC074612 · ltd · incorporated 1981-04-27
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46140
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 73). 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 (73/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
98 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 0 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-10-19📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-10-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-10-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-10-19📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2023-09-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-10-12📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-10-06➖DAVIDSON, Winifred resigneddirector
- 2022-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-18➕THOMSON, Anne Alexandra appointeddirector
- 1997-02-10➕THOMSON, Anne Alexandra appointedsecretary
- 1997-02-10➖DAVIDSON, Winifred resignedsecretary
- 1997-02-09➖BISSET, Frank Stevenson resigneddirector
- 1981-04-27🏢Company incorporatedAs MCGREGOR BALFOUR (SALES) LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
90/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 45 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Anne Alexandra Thomson Individual · British · DOB 10/1953 · age 73 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/10/2016 |
Mr David Shaw Thomson Individual · British · DOB 09/1949 · age 77 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/09/2023 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Winifread Davidsonceased 01/09/2023· 50-75% shares
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 · Wholesale & distribution · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCEL LTD→ SC836968 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| LARGO MG LTD→ SC841828 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| PENTLAND AUCTIONS LIMITED→ SC548885 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| POTATO DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ SC773791 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| QUINTA KAMADO LIMITED→ SC517717 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| R & M BEARINGS INTERNATIONAL (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC581599 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPLIANCE LTD→ SC809880 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| STRATHMORE WOOLLEN CO. LTD→ SC590510 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| T R INTERNATIONAL (CHEMICALS) LIMITED→ SC333684 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| TAYSIDE GAS LIMITED→ SC844599 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| TAYSIDE IRONMONGERY LIMITED→ SC283133 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| TAYSIDE MACHINERY LIMITED→ SC106211 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 38y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1981-04-27
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46140 — SIC 46140
Registered office
15 Rugby Terrace
Broughty Ferry
Dundee
DD5 2EQ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-20
Last: 2025-10-06
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
THOMSON, Anne Alexandra→
Activesecretary · appointed 1997-02-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMSON, Anne Alexandra→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2015-03-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DAVIDSON, Winifred→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1997-02-10
BISSET, Frank Stevenson→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · resigned 1997-02-09
DAVIDSON, Winifred→
Resigneddirector · ~99y · resigned 2022-10-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (98 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-23
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-10-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-10-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-10-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-19
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-10-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-12
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-05