FAST SIGNS (SCOTLAND) LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC153633 · ltd · incorporated 1994-10-14
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 30.2y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 18129
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 30.2y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
83 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£0Oct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Average employees800800

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

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 (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-04-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-10-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2014-10-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2013-10-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-03-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2011-03-31
    ➖
    LAMBIE, Cecilia Ann resigned
    director
  18. 2005-08-30
    ➖
    THOMSON, Stephen resigned
    director
  19. 2004-08-30
    ➕
    LAMBIE, Robert Corrigan appointed
    director
  20. 1997-10-31
    ➕
    LAMBIE, Robert appointed
    director
  21. 1996-02-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  22. 1995-10-14
    ➕
    THOMSON, Stephen appointed
    director
  23. 1994-10-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FAST SIGNS (SCOTLAND) LTD.
  24. 1994-10-14
    ➕
    LAMBIE, Cecilia Ann appointed
    secretary
  25. 1994-10-14
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1994-10-14
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 1994-10-14
    ➕
    LAMBIE, Cecilia Ann appointed
    director
  28. 1994-10-14
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 1994-10-14
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — 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 83 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 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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 Robert Lambie
Individual · British · DOB 08/1971 · age 55
25–50%
—25-50% shares23/09/2016

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

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
Incorporated1994-10-14
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC18129 — SIC 18129

Registered office

Unit 1
Millstreet Industrial Estate
Upper Mill Street
Airdrie
ML6 6JJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-07
Last: 2025-09-23

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

LAMBIE, Cecilia Ann→
secretary · appointed 1994-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAMBIE, Robert Corrigan→
director · ~83y · appointed 2004-08-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAMBIE, Robert→
director · ~55y · appointed 1997-10-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-10-14 · resigned 1994-10-14
Resigned
LAMBIE, Cecilia Ann→
director · ~81y · appointed 1994-10-14 · resigned 2011-03-31
Resigned
THOMSON, Stephen→
director · ~58y · appointed 1995-10-14 · resigned 2005-08-30
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-10-14 · resigned 1994-10-14
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 Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property12/02/199615/03/2013

Recent filings (83 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-10-09