ASTER CASH REGISTERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC120383 · ltd · incorporated 1989-09-21
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
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£3.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -42% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 24.2y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 24.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 4 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 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
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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 £3,502
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,689 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 42% YoY
Cash YoY
-42%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£8k
↓ 42% YoY
Net Worth
£4k
↓ 51% YoY
Current Assets
£10k
↓ 40% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£3k£7k£10k£14k£17kDec 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£5.2k£14.0k
Current assets£10.4k£17.3k
Cash£8.5k£14.5k
Debtors£119£272
Net assets£3.5k£7.2k

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 (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-18
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  4. 2023-09-18
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  5. 2023-09-08
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  6. 2023-09-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  7. 2023-08-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2023-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-06-21
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  11. 2022-06-21
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2022-06-21
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2021-10-01
    ➕
    HEDLEY, Mary Jane appointed
    director
  14. 2021-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-08-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-12-09
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  19. 2017-12-08
    ➖
    GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2017-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2011-06-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  22. 2011-04-06
    ➕
    GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS appointed
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2011-04-06
    ➖
    GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS resigned
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2010-09-21
    ➕
    GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2010-09-20
    ➖
    GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS resigned
    corporate-secretary
  26. 2006-09-21
    ➕
    GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS appointed
    corporate-secretary
  27. 2006-09-21
    ➖
    IAIN SMITH AND COMPANY resigned
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2002-03-13
    ➕
    HEDLEY, Gordon appointed
    director
  29. 2002-03-13
    ➖
    MACDONALD, Sadie Marlene resigned
    secretary
  30. 2002-03-13
    ➕
    IAIN SMITH AND COMPANY appointed
    corporate-secretary
  31. 2002-03-13
    ➖
    MACDONALD, Angus resigned
    director
  32. 2002-03-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  33. 1997-03-31
    ➖
    MACRAE, Alexander Angus resigned
    director
  34. 1989-09-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASTER CASH REGISTERS LIMITED
  35. 1989-09-21
    ➕
    MACDONALD, Sadie Marlene appointed
    secretary
  36. 1989-09-21
    ➕
    MACDONALD, Angus appointed
    director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
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 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 37 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Mary Jane Hedley
Individual · British · DOB 02/1956 · age 70
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting01/10/2021
Mr Gordon Hedley
Individual · British · DOB 08/1957 · age 69
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting21/09/2016

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
Incorporated1989-09-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62011 — Ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development

Registered office

5 St. Michaels Road
Newtonhill
Stonehaven
AB39 3RW
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-05
Last: 2025-06-21

Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)

HEDLEY, Gordon→
director · ~69y · appointed 2002-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEDLEY, Mary Jane→
director · ~70y · appointed 2021-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACDONALD, Sadie Marlene→
secretary · appointed 1989-09-21 · resigned 2002-03-13
Resigned
GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2011-04-06 · resigned 2017-12-08
Resigned
GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2010-09-21 · resigned 2011-04-06
Resigned
GARDNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2006-09-21 · resigned 2010-09-20
Resigned
IAIN SMITH AND COMPANY→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-03-13 · resigned 2006-09-21
Resigned
MACDONALD, Angus→
director · ~83y · appointed 1989-09-21 · resigned 2002-03-13
Resigned
MACRAE, Alexander Angus→
director · ~93y · resigned 1997-03-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property27/06/201118/09/2023
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property13/03/200208/09/2023

Recent filings (98 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-21
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-09-18
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-09-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-08-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-21
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-06-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-06-21
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-21