THE MORTGAGE DESK (SCOTLAND) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC143635 · ltd · incorporated 1993-04-01
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 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 29.5y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
95 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.

Key financials

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

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-06-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-06-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-10-14
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2016-10-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  13. 2016-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-04-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-04-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2014-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 1999-02-03
    ➕
    BARROWMAN, Wendy appointed
    secretary
  19. 1999-02-01
    ➖
    MCALLISTER, James resigned
    secretary
  20. 1998-03-24
    ➖
    MCALLISTER, James resigned
    director
  21. 1997-05-28
    ➕
    BARROWMAN, George Gilchrist appointed
    director
  22. 1997-05-28
    ➕
    MCALLISTER, James appointed
    secretary
  23. 1997-05-28
    ➖
    ALEXANDERS GROUP LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  24. 1996-12-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  25. 1996-04-26
    ➖
    FARQUHARSON, Alexander Stanley resigned
    secretary
  26. 1996-04-26
    ➕
    ALEXANDERS GROUP LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  27. 1996-04-26
    ➖
    FARQUHARSON, Alexander Stanley resigned
    director
  28. 1996-01-15
    ➖
    KUJAWA, Henryk resigned
    director
  29. 1993-05-20
    ➕
    MCALLISTER, James appointed
    director
  30. 1993-04-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As THE MORTGAGE DESK (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
  31. 1993-04-01
    ➕
    FARQUHARSON, Alexander Stanley appointed
    secretary
  32. 1993-04-01
    ➕
    FARQUHARSON, Alexander Stanley appointed
    director
  33. 1993-04-01
    ➕
    KUJAWA, Henryk appointed
    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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr George Gilchrist Barrowman
Individual · British · DOB 05/1949 · age 77
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016

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

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——£89.8k—18y8265y
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——£110.3k—20y8261y
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————23y8161y
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——£16.8k—17y8059y
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated1993-04-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC66190 — Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding

Registered office

4 Leith Place
Denny
Central
FK6 5NN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-23
Last: 2025-05-09

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

BARROWMAN, Wendy→
secretary · appointed 1999-02-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARROWMAN, George Gilchrist→
director · ~77y · appointed 1997-05-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FARQUHARSON, Alexander Stanley→
secretary · appointed 1993-04-01 · resigned 1996-04-26
Resigned
MCALLISTER, James→
secretary · appointed 1997-05-28 · resigned 1999-02-01
Resigned
ALEXANDERS GROUP LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1996-04-26 · resigned 1997-05-28
Resigned
FARQUHARSON, Alexander Stanley→
director · ~77y · appointed 1993-04-01 · resigned 1996-04-26
Resigned
KUJAWA, Henryk→
director · ~81y · appointed 1993-04-01 · resigned 1996-01-15
Resigned
MCALLISTER, James→
director · ~71y · appointed 1993-05-20 · resigned 1998-03-24
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property02/12/199614/10/2016

Recent filings (95 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-29