COCK & BULL COUNTRY INNS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC169863 · ltd · incorporated 1996-11-15
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£-149.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Licenced restaurants
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -71% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 29.2y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 3 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
9 connected companies via shared directors
72
Filing history
86 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
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £149,776
Cash draining
Cash down 71% YoY
Cash YoY
-71%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£500
↓ 71% YoY
Net Worth
-£150k
↓ 24% YoY
Current Assets
£96k
↓ 17% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£150k-£97k-£44k£9k£62k£115kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£-148.0k£-105.8k
Current assets£95.7k£115.3k
Cash£500£1.7k
Debtors£83.7k£103.5k
Net assets£-149.8k£-120.6k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-23
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-12-23
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2024-12-19
    ➖
    MASSON GLENNIE LLP resigned
    corporate-secretary
  5. 2024-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-12-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2020-08-05
    📄
    appoint-corporate-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP04
  12. 2020-08-05
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  13. 2020-08-04
    ➕
    MASSON GLENNIE LLP appointed
    corporate-secretary
  14. 2020-07-04
    ➖
    GRAY & GRAY LLP resigned
    corporate-secretary
  15. 2020-06-12
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  16. 2020-06-12
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-06-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2018-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2018-01-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2016-01-01
    ➕
    GRAY & GRAY LLP appointed
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2015-12-31
    ➖
    GRAY & GRAY resigned
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2015-03-03
    ➕
    DAVIDSON, Mandy Jane appointed
    director
  24. 2004-11-08
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Roger James resigned
    director
  25. 2004-02-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  26. 2004-02-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  27. 1997-02-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  28. 1996-12-03
    ➕
    MORRISON, Rodger Grant appointed
    director
  29. 1996-12-03
    ➕
    GRAY & GRAY appointed
    corporate-secretary
  30. 1996-12-03
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 1996-12-03
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Roger James appointed
    director
  32. 1996-12-03
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  33. 1996-11-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As COCK & BULL COUNTRY INNS LIMITED
  34. 1996-11-15
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  35. 1996-11-15
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — 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 78 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 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Rodger Grant Morrison
Individual · British · DOB 12/1948 · age 78
75–100%
—75-100% 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

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1996-11-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56101 — Licenced restaurants

Registered office

30a Newton Road St Fergus
Peterhead
Aberdeenshire
AB42 3DD
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-29
Last: 2025-11-15

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

DAVIDSON, Mandy Jane→
director · ~55y · appointed 2015-03-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MORRISON, Rodger Grant→
director · ~78y · appointed 1996-12-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRAY & GRAY→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1996-12-03 · resigned 2015-12-31
Resigned
GRAY & GRAY LLP→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2016-01-01 · resigned 2020-07-04
Resigned
MASSON GLENNIE LLP→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2020-08-04 · resigned 2024-12-19
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-11-15 · resigned 1996-12-03
Resigned
TAYLOR, Roger James→
director · ~72y · appointed 1996-12-03 · resigned 2004-11-08
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-11-15 · resigned 1996-12-03
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property27/02/2004—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property16/02/2004—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property07/02/199712/06/2020
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (86 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-12-23
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-12-17