FORTH & TAY MARINE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC175696 · ltd · incorporated 1997-05-22
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 · high confidence
Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.
  • · Lifecycle stage: mature → zombie
  • · Investment thesis: well_run_hard_buy → zombie_hold
  • · Deal-killer verdict: clean → workable
  • · Opportunity score: 82 → 77
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "zombie"
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 4 negative signals vs 1 positive.

  • ↓Lifecycle stage: mature → zombie
  • ·Investment thesis: well_run_hard_buy → zombie_hold
  • ↑Deal-killer verdict: clean → workable
  • ↓Opportunity score: 82 → 77
  • ↓Hygiene score: 82 → 77
  • +1 more
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
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 29.0y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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, 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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Average employees600600

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
1
filing
  • • 1 officers
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 officers
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-04-27
    ➖
    SMITH, Robert Alexander resigned
    director
  3. 2026-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-05-29
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  5. 2025-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-10-24
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  8. 2023-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-05-26
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2010-11-18
    ➖
    SMITH, Euphemia Duncan resigned
    secretary
  19. 2010-11-18
    ➖
    SMITH, Euphemia Duncan resigned
    director
  20. 1998-08-27
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  21. 1998-07-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  22. 1998-06-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  23. 1998-05-20
    ➕
    SMITH, Euphemia Duncan appointed
    director
  24. 1997-06-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  25. 1997-05-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FORTH & TAY MARINE LIMITED
  26. 1997-05-22
    ➕
    SMITH, Martin Alexander appointed
    director
  27. 1997-05-22
    ➕
    SMITH, Euphemia Duncan appointed
    secretary
  28. 1997-05-22
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 1997-05-22
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1997-05-22
    ➕
    SMITH, Robert Alexander appointed
    director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert Alexander Smith
Individual · British · DOB 04/1945 · age 81
50–75%
—50-75% shares23/05/2016
Mr Martin Smith
Individual · British · DOB 06/1970 · age 56
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · firm interest24/10/2023

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated1997-05-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities

Registered office

Forth & Tay Marine Limited,
Cupar Trading Estate
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4SX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-05
Last: 2026-05-22

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

SMITH, Martin Alexander→
director · ~56y · appointed 1997-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Euphemia Duncan→
secretary · appointed 1997-05-22 · resigned 2010-11-18
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-05-22 · resigned 1997-05-22
Resigned
SMITH, Euphemia Duncan→
director · ~86y · appointed 1998-05-20 · resigned 2010-11-18
Resigned
SMITH, Robert Alexander→
director · ~81y · appointed 1997-05-22 · resigned 2026-04-27
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 Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property10/07/1998—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Floating charge1 property10/06/1998—
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property27/06/199727/08/1998
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (75 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-29
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-04