J KELLY & SONS (LARKHALL) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC175597 · ltd · incorporated 1997-05-16
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£2
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Dormant / non-trading with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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 (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 3 with DOB)
78
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
81 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£2
~ YoY
Current Assets
£2
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£0£1£1£2£2Dec 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£2£2
Current assets£2£2
Debtors£2£2
Net assets£2£2

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-14
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2024-05-14
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  5. 2023-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-07-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-07-30
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2020-07-30
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2020-07-30
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2019-11-18
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  14. 2019-11-18
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  15. 2019-10-23
    DAVIDSON, Emily appointed
    secretary
  16. 2019-10-23
    KELLY, Marion resigned
    secretary
  17. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  19. 2017-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  20. 2012-09-03
    KELLY, John resigned
    director
  21. 2001-03-09
    KELLY, Catherine W resigned
    director
  22. 1997-06-18
    KELLY, Andrew Semple appointed
    director
  23. 1997-06-18
    KELLY, Marion appointed
    secretary
  24. 1997-06-18
    MACLAY MURRAY & SPENS LLP resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1997-06-18
    KELLY, Catherine W appointed
    director
  26. 1997-06-18
    KELLY, John appointed
    director
  27. 1997-06-18
    VINDEX LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 1997-06-18
    VINDEX SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 1997-05-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As J KELLY & SONS (LARKHALL) LIMITED
  30. 1997-05-16
    MACLAY MURRAY & SPENS LLP appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 1997-05-16
    VINDEX LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 1997-05-16
    VINDEX SERVICES 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 "KELLY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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.)

Group structure

J. Kelly & Sons (Hamilton) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
J. Kelly & Sons (Hamilton) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
J KELLY & SONS (LARKHALL) LIMITED
This company · SC175597

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

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
J. Kelly & Sons (Hamilton) Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Andrew Semple Kelly
Individual · British · DOB 08/1963 · age 63
board controlboard control06/04/2016

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 · Holding company · DG postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
J. KELLY & SONS (HAMILTON) LIMITED
SC020771 · est 1939
£7.77M
£6.60M£8.93M
£7.77M87y8263y
ROGERSON MOTORS LIMITED
SC055796 · est 1974
£205.8k
£174.9k£236.7k
£205.8k51y8283y
BUILDING CRAFTSMEN LIMITED
SC184995 · est 1998
£51.5k
£43.7k£59.2k
£51.5k28y8068y
MATHER PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
SC317394 · est 2007
£1.0k
£851£1.2k
£1.0k19y8269y
JARDINE AND COMPANY (IRONMONGERS) LIMITED
SC041600 · est 1965
£354
£301£407
£35461y8088y
CAULDHAME LIMITED
SC266350 · est 2004
£57
£48£66
£5722y8063y
LPS (SOUTH) LIMITED
SC249999 · est 2003
£1
£1£1
£122y8062y
CINNAMON 2007 LIMITED
SC312763 · est 2006
019y8281y
CLAN CENTRE LIMITED
SC113050 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
37y8162y
ELRIG ESTATE COMPANY LIMITED
SC133061 · est 1991
10034y8175y
THE COUNTRY TRADER LIMITED
SC127204 · est 1990 · no financials extracted
35y8162y
ANTARTEX LIMITED
SC071934 · est 1980 · no financials extracted
45y8062y
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
Incorporated1997-05-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company

Registered office

Airdrie Farm
-
Kirkbean
Dumfriesshire
DG2 8AB
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-29
Last: 2025-05-15

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

DAVIDSON, Emily
secretary · appointed 2019-10-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KELLY, Andrew Semple
director · ~63y · appointed 1997-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KELLY, Marion
secretary · appointed 1997-06-18 · resigned 2019-10-23
Resigned
MACLAY MURRAY & SPENS LLP
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-05-16 · resigned 1997-06-18
Resigned
KELLY, Catherine W
director · ~92y · appointed 1997-06-18 · resigned 2001-03-09
Resigned
KELLY, John
director · ~93y · appointed 1997-06-18 · resigned 2012-09-03
Resigned
VINDEX LIMITED
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-05-16 · resigned 1997-06-18
Resigned
VINDEX SERVICES LIMITED
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-05-16 · resigned 1997-06-18
Resigned

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

Recent filings (81 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-05-14
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2024-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-11-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-07-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-07-30