JOHN CLARK (HOLDINGS) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC098411 · ltd · incorporated 1986-04-14

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

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Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

45112SIC 45112
45200SIC 45200
45320Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 79). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

8 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 38.2y

35/100

too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

· Oldest live charge is 38.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 40/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (61/100)

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

Company profile

address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

8 charges (8/8 with lender, 8/8 with type)

Directors & officers

17 officers (7 active, 17 linked, 15 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

18 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

162 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (59 events)Click to expand

2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-09-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-02-29
➖
NORTH, Richard Stanley resigned
director
2024-02-29
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-29
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-02-21
➕
HOLMES, David Michael appointed
director
2023-08-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2022-10-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2022-04-06
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-06
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-31
➕
ROGERS, Louise Elizabeth appointed
director
2022-03-31
➖
MURRAY, John Kenneth resigned
director
2021-08-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-01-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2020-01-20
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-01-13
🔒
Charge registered #8
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2019-10-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2017-05-21
➖
CLARK, Deidre Victoria Anne resigned
director
2016-10-27
➕
O'HANLON, John Francis appointed
director
2016-08-24
➖
CHESSOR, John Clinton resigned
director
2016-06-28
➕
MCINTOSH, Alan appointed
secretary
2016-06-28
➖
CLARK, Deirdre Victoria Anne resigned
secretary
2016-06-28
➖
HOLMES, David Michael resigned
director
2016-06-28
➕
NORTH, Richard Stanley appointed
director
2016-06-24
🔓
Charge satisfied #6
2016-06-24
🔓
Charge satisfied #5
2016-02-02
🔓
Charge satisfied #7
2016-02-02
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2015-01-07
🔒
Charge registered #7
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2013-12-20
➖
WILEY, William Struan Ferguson resigned
director
2013-10-01
➕
HOLMES, David Michael appointed
director
2013-07-02
🔒
Charge registered #6
Lender: Volkswagen Bank Gmbh
2013-07-02
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Limited
2013-05-10
➕
MCINTOSH, Alan appointed
director
2011-09-23
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2010-08-11
➕
CLARK, Christopher Jon appointed
director
2009-04-01
➕
MURRAY, John Kenneth appointed
director
1996-05-31
➖
HENDERSON, Ian resigned
director
1996-05-31
➖
HERON, Christopher Bayford resigned
director
1996-03-01
➕
WILEY, William Struan Ferguson appointed
director
1993-08-31
➖
RETTIE, John Ogsten resigned
director
1992-09-08
➕
RETTIE, John Ogsten appointed
director
1992-01-01
➕
HENDERSON, Ian appointed
director

Showing most recent 50 of 59 events

Owner dependency

88/100

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

-6 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CLARK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

73/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Christopher Jon Clark Individual · British · DOB 05/1976 · age 50	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	20/12/2018
Mr John Hunter Somerville Clark Individual · British · DOB 07/1947 · age 79	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	28/06/2016

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Deidre Victoria Anne Clarkceased 20/12/2018· 25-50% 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 · Automotive · AB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
COLIN LAWSON TRANSPORT LIMITED→ SC268596 · est 2004	£1.64M £1.31M–£1.97M	£8.74M	—	7300	21y	87	59y
BREAKING POINT LIMITED→ SC167411 · est 1996	—	—	£22.6k	—	29y	83	61y
CARS RECOVERY LIMITED→ SC334403 · est 2007	—	—	£186.5k	—	18y	83	68y
MACDUFF DIESELS LTD.→ SC177616 · est 1997	—	—	£909.3k	—	28y	83	70y
WESTFIELD MOTORS (PETERHEAD) LIMITED→ SC234665 · est 2002	—	—	£600.4k	—	23y	83	84y
A. W. AUTOTECH LIMITED→ SC172396 · est 1997	—	—	£527.7k	—	29y	82	59y
ALAN J. ROSS MOTOR ENGINEERS LTD.→ SC178820 · est 1997	—	—	£382.8k	—	28y	82	72y
BRIDGE OF DON GARAGE LIMITED→ SC285473 · est 2005	—	—	£163.5k	—	20y	82	65y
CAMERON AUTOTECH LIMITED→ SC241160 · est 2002	—	—	£1.27M	—	23y	82	65y
CITYVOE LIMITED→ SC274365 · est 2004	—	—	—	700	21y	82	63y
COTTAGE CARS (ABERDEEN) LTD.→ SC350432 · est 2008	—	—	—	—	17y	82	65y
CROWN MOTORS (A & I) LIMITED→ SC128540 · est 1990	—	—	£2.41M	—	35y	82	66y

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1986-04-14

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45111 — Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles

Registered office

Alliance Centre Greenwell Road

East Tullos Industrial Estate

Aberdeen

AB12 3AX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-02

Last: 2025-07-19