ISBISTER BROS. LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC154863 · ltd · incorporated 1994-12-12
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.12M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 47110Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
  • 49410Freight transport by road
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · oldest 29.6y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (3 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
92 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,115,486
Cash YoY
-25%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£94k
↓ 25% YoY
Net Worth
£1.1m
↑ 9.0% YoY
Current Assets
£898k
↓ 1.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£223k£446k£669k£892k£1.1mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£1.32M£1.27M
Current assets£897.7k£912.4k
Cash£94.3k£125.8k
Debtors£619.3k£596.0k
Net assets£1.12M£1.02M

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 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-06
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-01-22
    ➖
    ISBISTER, Renee Bews resigned
    director
  3. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-02-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2023-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-10-19
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2020-10-09
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  12. 2020-09-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  13. 2020-09-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  14. 2020-09-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2020-09-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2020-09-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2020-09-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2020-09-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  19. 2019-12-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  20. 2019-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2018-05-08
    ➕
    ROSIE, Isla appointed
    secretary
  22. 2018-05-08
    ➖
    ISBISTER, Alfred Thomas Firth resigned
    secretary
  23. 2015-08-19
    ➖
    STEADMAN, Fiona Christine resigned
    director
  24. 2014-01-07
    ➖
    ISBISTER, Alfred John Taylor resigned
    director
  25. 2014-01-07
    ➕
    STEADMAN, Fiona Christine appointed
    director
  26. 2013-04-06
    ➕
    ROSIE, Isla Mahri appointed
    director
  27. 1997-06-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  28. 1996-12-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  29. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    ISBISTER, Alfred Thomas Firth appointed
    director
  30. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    ISBISTER, Alfred Thomas Firth appointed
    secretary
  31. 1994-12-28
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    ISBISTER, Alfred John Taylor appointed
    director
  33. 1994-12-28
    ➕
    ISBISTER, Renee Bews appointed
    director
  34. 1994-12-28
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  35. 1994-12-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ISBISTER BROS. LIMITED
  36. 1994-12-12
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  37. 1994-12-12
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

98/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ISBISTER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.

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 74 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 31 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Isla Mahri Rosie
Individual · British · DOB 12/1980 · age 46
50–75%
—50-75% shares25/11/2019
Mr Alfred Thomas Firth Isbister
Individual · British · DOB 11/1952 · age 74
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated1994-12-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Isbister Bros Ltd
Quoyloo
Stromness
Orkney
KW16 3LT
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-26
Last: 2025-12-12

Officers (3 active · 6 resigned)

ROSIE, Isla→
secretary · appointed 2018-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ISBISTER, Alfred Thomas Firth→
director · ~74y · appointed 1994-12-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ROSIE, Isla Mahri→
director · ~46y · appointed 2013-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ISBISTER, Alfred Thomas Firth→
secretary · appointed 1994-12-28 · resigned 2018-05-08
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-12-12 · resigned 1994-12-28
Resigned
ISBISTER, Alfred John Taylor→
director · ~97y · appointed 1994-12-28 · resigned 2014-01-07
Resigned
ISBISTER, Renee Bews→
director · ~95y · appointed 1994-12-28 · resigned 2026-01-22
Resigned
STEADMAN, Fiona Christine→
director · ~41y · appointed 2014-01-07 · resigned 2015-08-19
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-12-12 · resigned 1994-12-28
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
4
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge2 properties29/09/2020—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property29/09/2020—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property20/06/1997—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property06/12/1996—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (92 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-03-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-21
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-10-19