COSTLEY INNS & WINE BARS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC168509 · ltd · incorporated 1996-09-24

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 Sept 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Licenced restaurants

Sector: Accommodation & food service

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 19.3y

30/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 19.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (86/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)

Directors & officers

8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

4 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

96 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-09-30	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Average employees	0	0	0

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

filing

• 1 address

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 address
• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 address
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand

2026-06-29
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-06-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-06-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-05-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-06-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-04-15
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-09-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-04-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2018-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2018-05-31
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2018-05-25
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2017-04-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2011-03-25
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2009-11-26
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2007-10-25
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
2007-03-23
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
2000-07-09
➖
ALLISON, Elizabeth resigned
director
2000-07-09
➖
MURDOCH, James Kenneth resigned
director
2000-07-09
➖
POGGI, Michael resigned
director
1997-06-16
➖
ALLISON, James resigned
director
1996-10-04
➕
COSTLEY, Catherine appointed
secretary
1996-10-04
➕
COSTLEY, William James Mccreadie appointed
director
1996-10-04
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-10-04
➕
ALLISON, Elizabeth appointed
director
1996-10-04
➕
ALLISON, James appointed
director
1996-10-04
➕
MURDOCH, James Kenneth appointed
director
1996-10-04
➕
POGGI, Michael appointed
director
1996-10-04
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1996-09-24
🏢
Company incorporated
As COSTLEY INNS & WINE BARS LIMITED
1996-09-24
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-09-24
➕
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "COSTLEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+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.)

Group structure

Costley & Costley Hoteliers Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Costley & Costley Hoteliers Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control

ultimate parent

⬇

COSTLEY INNS & WINE BARS LIMITED

This company · SC168509

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Costley & Costley Hoteliers Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	24/09/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Hospitality · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
SIMPSINNS LIMITED→ SC220884 · est 2001	£4.78M £3.58M–£5.97M	—	—	255	25y	85	64y
WESTERN HOUSE CATERING LIMITED→ SC269741 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	83	79y
AUNTIE PATS BOARDING KENNELS LTD→ SC355802 · est 2009	—	—	—	2	17y	82	59y
BRIG O'DOON LIMITED→ SC187703 · est 1998	—	—	—	0	27y	82	74y
CLOWANCE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC132922 · est 1991	—	—	£2.73M	—	34y	82	71y
D.J. DUNABIE (CARAVANS) LIMITED→ SC048808 · est 1971	—	—	—	3	55y	82	81y
FERGUSSON LEISURE LIMITED→ SC181660 · est 1997	—	—	—	2	28y	82	59y
HIGHGROVE HOUSE HOTEL LTD→ SC282087 · est 2005	—	—	—	0	21y	82	74y
INVERCLOY LIMITED→ SC225106 · est 2001	—	—	£13.1k	—	24y	82	76y
LAGG PROPERTIES LTD→ SC260057 · est 2003	—	—	£75.9k	—	22y	82	58y
LOCHGREEN HOUSE HOTEL LTD→ SC245372 · est 2003	—	—	—	0	23y	82	74y
MURDOCH HOSPITALITY LIMITED→ SC263833 · est 2004	—	—	—	33	22y	82	66y

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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

Incorporated1996-09-24

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC56101 — Licenced restaurants

Registered office

Highgrove House Hotel

Loans

Troon

KA10 7HL

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-06-30

Last made up to: 2025-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-08

Last: 2025-09-24

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

COSTLEY, Catherine→

secretary · appointed 1996-10-04

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COSTLEY, William James Mccreadie→

director · ~74y · appointed 1996-10-04

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-09-24 · resigned 1996-10-04

Resigned

ALLISON, Elizabeth→

director · ~72y · appointed 1996-10-04 · resigned 2000-07-09

Resigned

ALLISON, James→

director · ~74y · appointed 1996-10-04 · resigned 1997-06-16

Resigned

MURDOCH, James Kenneth→

director · ~66y · appointed 1996-10-04 · resigned 2000-07-09

Resigned

POGGI, Michael→

director · ~62y · appointed 1996-10-04 · resigned 2000-07-09

Resigned

JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-09-24 · resigned 1996-10-04

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC	A registered charge	1 property	25/05/2018	—
outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC	Standard security	1 property	26/11/2009	—
outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Floating charge	1 property	25/10/2007	—
satisfied	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Standard security	1 property	23/03/2007	25/03/2011

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (96 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address

address · AD01

2026-06-29

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2026-05-28

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-10-29

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC05

2025-09-24

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2025-04-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-09-24

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2024-06-13

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-09-27

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2023-06-08

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-09-26

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2022-05-20

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-09-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2021-06-25

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address

address · AD01

2021-04-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2020-09-30