FRANK NICOL FARM AND GARDEN MACHINERY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC139585 · ltd · incorporated 1992-08-06

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 Feb 2025

Net worth

£326.0k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 46610

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

47190Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 87-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 87). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -32% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 33.0y

30/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 33.0 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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

9 officers (5 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

107 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 £325,983

Net assets shrinking

Down £122,581 YoY

Cash YoY

-32%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£208

↓ 32% YoY

Net Worth

£326k

↓ 27% YoY

Current Assets

£841k

↑ 7.3% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-02-28	2024-02-29
Total assets	£464.4k	£638.8k
Current assets	£840.6k	£783.6k
Cash	£208	£304
Debtors	£88.9k	£60.2k
Net assets	£326.0k	£448.6k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 mortgage

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand

2026-02-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-10
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-10-31
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
2025-08-26
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-06-13
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-13
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-11-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-11
📍
move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
address · AD03
2023-09-11
📍
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2023-09-06
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2023-08-17
📍
move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
address · AD04
2023-08-17
📍
move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
address · AD04
2023-08-17
📍
move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
address · AD04
2023-05-16
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-02-14
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-11-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-05
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-08-19
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-08-19
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-03-04
➖
NICOL, Wilma Joan Walker resigned
secretary
2021-03-04
➖
NICOL, Wilma Joan Walker resigned
director
2020-12-01
➕
NICOL, Rebecca appointed
director
2015-10-13
➕
NICOL, Frank Barrie appointed
director
2000-07-17
➕
NICOL, David Alexander Norrie appointed
director
1993-04-15
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
1992-08-18
➕
NICOL, Frank Norrie appointed
director
1992-08-18
➕
ROSS, James appointed
director
1992-08-18
➕
NICOL, Wilma Joan Walker appointed
secretary
1992-08-18
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1992-08-18
➕
NICOL, Wilma Joan Walker appointed
director
1992-08-18
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1992-08-06
🏢
Company incorporated
As FRANK NICOL FARM AND GARDEN MACHINERY LIMITED
1992-08-06
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1992-08-06
➕
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director

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

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "NICOL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 87 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100

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 87 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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.)

Shareholders & ownership

3 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Frank Norrie Nicol Individual · British · DOB 02/1939 · age 87	50–75%	—	50-75% shares	06/04/2016
Mr Frank Barrie Nicol Individual · British · DOB 12/1967 · age 59	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence	01/12/2024
Mr David Alexander Norrie Nicol Individual · British · DOB 05/1972 · age 54	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence	01/12/2020

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Mrs Wilma Joan Walker Nicolceased 04/03/2021· 25-50% shares

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

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Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
GLEANER LIMITED→ SC030017 · est 1954	£4.05M £3.04M–£5.06M	—	—	199	72y	88	62y
HIGHLAND CLEARANCE LIMITED→ SC088323 · est 1984	—	—	—	300	41y	82	76y
MACGREGOR INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC173566 · est 1997 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	82	97y
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INVERNESS WHISKY LTD→ SC697926 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ISLE OF SKYE CLOTHING COMPANY LTD→ SC816838 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
JUST HOOKED LIMITED→ SC225375 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	—	—
NORTH GREETINGS LTD→ SC519194 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
OPTIMUM UNDERFLOOR HEATING LIMITED→ SC312531 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
PILGRIM CARAVANS OUTDOORS LIMITED→ SC751221 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
PRIDE OF BENGAL WHOLESALE LTD→ SC720677 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
SABAR SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC735691 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—

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

Incorporated1992-08-06

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC46610 — SIC 46610

Registered office

Strathpeffer Road

Dingwall

Ross-Shire

IV15 9QF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-11-30

Last made up to: 2025-02-28

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-01

Last: 2025-08-18