EDWARD F BROWN & SONS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC143222 · ltd · incorporated 1993-03-15

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 Sept 2024

Net worth

£601.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

77/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 33.1y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 33.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

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

1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

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

Directors & officers

7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

111 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

77/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

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 £601,101

Very low cash

Cash position: £23

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£23

Net Worth

£601k

Current Assets

£436k

Current Liabilities

—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-09-29
Total assets	£601.1k
Current assets	£436.4k
Cash	£23
Debtors	£1.7k
Net assets	£601.1k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand

2025-11-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-27
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-12
➖
BROWN, Alison Christine resigned
secretary
2023-05-12
➖
BROWN, Alison Christine resigned
director
2023-05-12
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-05-12
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-24
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-06-24
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-06-24
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-06-24
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-06-11
➖
BROWN, Edward Roger resigned
director
2021-06-11
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-19
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2019-02-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-03-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2011-05-20
➕
BROWN, Iain William appointed
director
2011-05-20
➕
BROWN, Edward Roger appointed
director
2011-05-17
➖
BROWN, Edward Francis resigned
director
1995-02-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
1993-07-12
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
1993-04-27
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
1993-03-15
🏢
Company incorporated
As EDWARD F BROWN & SONS LIMITED
1993-03-15
➕
BROWN, Alison Christine appointed
secretary
1993-03-15
➕
REID, Brian appointed
nominee-secretary
1993-03-15
➖
REID, Brian resigned
nominee-secretary
1993-03-15
➕
BROWN, Alison Christine appointed
director
1993-03-15
➕
BROWN, Edward Francis appointed
director
1993-03-15
➕
MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
nominee-director
1993-03-15
➖
MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BROWN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100

Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS

primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Edward Roger Brown Individual · British · DOB 11/1971 · age 55	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	01/01/2018
Iain William Brown Individual · British · DOB 11/1973 · age 53	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016

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

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ELP VENTURES LTD→ 11311449 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
F D WELTERS LIMITED→ 08536796 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
FLOCKOFFITNESS LTD→ SC847490 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
FLP CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC262323 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—

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

Incorporated1993-03-15

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Academy House

Shedden Park Road

Kelso

Roxburghshire

TD5 7AL

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-06-29

Last made up to: 2024-09-29

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-26

Last: 2026-02-12

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

BROWN, Iain William→

director · ~53y · appointed 2011-05-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BROWN, Alison Christine→

secretary · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 2023-05-12

Resigned

REID, Brian→

nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 1993-03-15

Resigned

BROWN, Alison Christine→

director · ~79y · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 2023-05-12

Resigned

BROWN, Edward Roger→

director · ~55y · appointed 2011-05-20 · resigned 2021-06-11

Resigned

BROWN, Edward Francis→

director · ~80y · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 2011-05-17

Resigned

MABBOTT, Stephen→

nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 1993-03-15

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown

			Type	Properties
	satisfied	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Legal charge	1 property	12/07/1993	20/02/1995
	outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Floating charge	1 property	27/04/1993	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (111 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-03-02

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-11-25

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened

accounts · AA01

2025-06-27

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-02-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-06-28

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-02-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-06-29

termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM02

2023-05-12

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-05-12

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-02-16

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2022-03-11

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-03-01

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2021-06-24

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC04

2021-06-24

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2021-06-24