GORDON BOW PLANT HIRE LTD

📉Decliningactive
SC135116 · ltd · incorporated 1991-11-19
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.
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "declining"
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
£9.21M
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Site preparation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 33.8y

60/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 33.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
  • · Not currently profitable — coverage conversation is a harder sell.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
10 officers (6 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
9 connected companies via shared directors
72
Filing history
112 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 · FRS 102
Loss-making
Loss before tax £155,585
Strong revenue growth
Turnover up 16% YoY
Slipped into loss
Moved from profit to loss this year
Turnover YoY
+16%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Turnover£9.21M£7.93M
Gross profit£4.93M£3.78M
Operating profit£449.7k£407.7k
Profit before tax£-155.6k£96.7k
Average employees62007000

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-08-30
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  5. 2023-08-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Virgin Money) (Company Number SC001111)
  6. 2023-08-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  7. 2023-08-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2023-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-04-01
    ➕
    REID, David appointed
    director
  10. 2022-04-01
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Jason appointed
    director
  11. 2022-04-01
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  12. 2022-04-01
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2022-02-03
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2022-02-01
    ➖
    GIBB, William resigned
    director
  15. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-06-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  19. 2019-06-04
    ➖
    BOW, Maisie resigned
    director
  20. 2018-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2017-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2016-06-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  23. 2016-04-01
    ➕
    TAIT, Richard Robert Sutherland appointed
    director
  24. 2014-12-05
    ➕
    TAIT, Richard Robert Sutherland appointed
    secretary
  25. 2014-12-04
    ➖
    GOWANS, Anne Mary Davidson resigned
    secretary
  26. 2011-12-12
    ➕
    BOW, Graham appointed
    director
  27. 2008-12-12
    ➖
    KERR, William resigned
    director
  28. 2004-02-18
    ➕
    GIBB, William appointed
    director
  29. 2003-12-23
    ➕
    KERR, William appointed
    director
  30. 1992-07-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  31. 1991-11-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As GORDON BOW PLANT HIRE LTD
  32. 1991-11-19
    ➕
    BOW, Gordon appointed
    director
  33. 1991-11-19
    ➕
    GOWANS, Anne Mary Davidson appointed
    secretary
  34. 1991-11-19
    ➕
    BOW, Maisie appointed
    director

Owner dependency

65/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

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 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 34 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.)

Group structure

Gms Investments Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Gms Investments Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
GORDON BOW PLANT HIRE LTD
This company · SC135116

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Gms Investments Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Gordon Bowceased 06/04/2016· 75-100% 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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated1991-11-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43120 — Site preparation

Registered office

6 Young's Road
East Mains Industrial Estate
Broxburn
West Lothian
EH52 5LY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-25
Last: 2025-11-11

Officers (6 active · 4 resigned)

TAIT, Richard Robert Sutherland→
secretary · appointed 2014-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOW, Gordon→
director · ~68y · appointed 1991-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOW, Graham→
director · ~44y · appointed 2011-12-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
REID, David→
director · ~59y · appointed 2022-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TAIT, Richard Robert Sutherland→
director · ~53y · appointed 2016-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TAYLOR, Jason→
director · ~49y · appointed 2022-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GOWANS, Anne Mary Davidson→
secretary · appointed 1991-11-19 · resigned 2014-12-04
Resigned
BOW, Maisie→
director · ~70y · appointed 1991-11-19 · resigned 2019-06-04
Resigned
GIBB, William→
director · ~73y · appointed 2004-02-18 · resigned 2022-02-01
Resigned
KERR, William→
director · ~60y · appointed 2003-12-23 · resigned 2008-12-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Virgin Money) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—30/08/2023—
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property27/07/199223/06/2016
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (112 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-14
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2023-08-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2023-08-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-14
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-01
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-30