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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
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 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
77 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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 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. 1996-05-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As F & A SERVICES LIMITED
  17. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    COWL, Janet Anne appointed
    secretary
  18. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    COWL, John Gregory appointed
    director
  19. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 1996-05-13
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 1996-05-13
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 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

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
TOOLDEN LIMITED→
SC453454 · est 2013
£2.60M
£1.95M–£3.25M
——5613y8563y
DUNCAN AND TODD LIMITED→
SC065757 · est 1978
£1.87M
£1.40M–£2.33M
——35147y8349y
BRODIE COUNTRYFARE LIMITED→
SC146184 · est 1993
£909.2k
£681.9k–£1.14M
——12132y8578y
GRAMPIAN POWERCLEAN EQUIPMENT LTD.→
SC240849 · est 2002
——£30.5k—23y8382y
INTERNATIONAL DOORS AND WINDOWS LIMITED→
SC304831 · est 2006
———1619y8365y
KEMNAY PHARMACY LIMITED→
SC245230 · est 2003
——£967.2k—23y8366y
SOUND TECHNOLOGY AUDIO-VISUAL LIMITED→
SC258755 · est 2003
———30022y8379y
THE MAINS OF DRUM GARDEN CENTRE LIMITED→
SC311898 · est 2006
——£465.3k—19y8371y
THE SANDWICH LARDER LIMITED→
SC327302 · est 2007
———3718y8362y
TURRIFF AGRI-PARTS LIMITED→
SC069419 · est 1979
——£527.9k—46y8378y
A & J WATT LTD.→
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A.W. HERD & SONS LIMITED→
SC027384 · est 1949
——£119.5k—76y8278y
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: 2027-06-13
Last: 2026-05-30

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 (77 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-03
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