F & A SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC165565 · ltd · incorporated 1996-05-13
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 May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47510
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). 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).

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
76 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
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£0May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Average employees1100

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-27
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2024-01-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-06-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-06-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 1996-05-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As F & A SERVICES LIMITED
  18. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    COWL, Janet Anne appointed
    secretary
  19. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    COWL, John Gregory appointed
    director
  20. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 1996-05-13
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 1996-05-13
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — 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 74 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 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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
Mr John Gregory Cowl
Individual · British · DOB 08/1952 · age 74
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Janet Anne Cowl
Individual · British · DOB 07/1956 · age 70
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Retail · AB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ELLINGTON KITCHENS LTD→
SC507015 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
ELLON FISH SHOP LTD.→
SC302132 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y——
ELLON MARKETS PETERHEAD LTD→
SC771130 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
ELLON SPIRITS RETAIL LTD→
SC840990 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ERANDERS LTD→
SC810822 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
EURO VAPE MARKET LTD→
SC881104 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
EZSALES LTD→
SC771505 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
FABFEET ELC LIMITED→
SC782183 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
FAIMLY LIMITED→
SC374535 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————16y——
FAIR DEAL FOODS 2 LTD→
SC539369 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
FALLON'S BOUTIQUE LTD→
SC647330 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
FAMILY SHOPPER (LOCHEE) LTD→
SC643220 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
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
Incorporated1996-05-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47510 — SIC 47510

Registered office

Johnstone House
52-54 Rose Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1HA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-13
Last: 2025-05-30

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

COWL, Janet Anne→
secretary · appointed 1996-05-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COWL, John Gregory→
director · ~74y · appointed 1996-05-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-05-13 · resigned 1996-05-13
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-05-13 · resigned 1996-05-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (76 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-05-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-01-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-07