ARGYLL COMMERCIALS LTD.

💤Zombieactive

SC179530 · ltd · incorporated 1997-10-09

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 Oct 2024

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: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 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

1 live charge · oldest 23.7y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 23.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

65 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

2 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	2024-10-31	2023-10-31
Total assets	—	£183.6k
Current assets	—	£186.6k
Cash	—	£84.7k
Debtors	—	£85.9k
Net assets	—	£183.6k
Average employees	500	—

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2025-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-06-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-03-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-11-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-10-20
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-03-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-11-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2002-08-30
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
1997-10-09
🏢
Company incorporated
As ARGYLL COMMERCIALS LTD.
1997-10-09
➕
MCPHAIL, Frances appointed
secretary
1997-10-09
➕
MCPHAIL, Malcolm appointed
director
1997-10-09
➕
FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-10-09
➖
FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-10-09
➕
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1997-10-09
➖
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES 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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — 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 70 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 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Malcolm Mcphail Individual · Scottish · DOB 10/1956 · age 70	50–75%	—	50-75% shares	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · PA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
INVERNESS TYRE SERVICES LTD.→ SC212622 · est 2000	—	—	£44.1k	—	25y	83	58y
AUTOPOINT LARKHALL LIMITED→ SC347311 · est 2008	—	—	—	400	17y	82	59y
C.J.AUTO REPAIRS LIMITED→ SC305402 · est 2006	—	—	—	13	19y	82	76y
CANAL GARAGE LTD.→ SC221681 · est 2001	—	—	£85.5k	—	24y	82	80y
CHARING CROSS CARS LIMITED→ SC213715 · est 2000	—	—	£124.8k	—	25y	82	61y
CLYDE MOTOR ENGINEERS LTD.→ SC294487 · est 2005	—	—	£707.3k	—	20y	82	59y
COLLINS TYRE SERVICES LIMITED→ SC149065 · est 1994	—	—	£162.0k	—	32y	82	68y
FERGUS MONK LTD→ SC317742 · est 2007	—	—	£263.9k	—	19y	82	72y
L4 TINTS LTD→ SC718718 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
S.JOHNSTON TRADING LIMITED→ SC343461 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
SINGH'S GARAGE LIMITED→ SC355272 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
SITTAS AUTO EXPORTS LTD→ SC814864 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—

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

Incorporated1997-10-09

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Argyll Commercials Ltd

Glenshellach Road

Oban, Argyll

PA34 4PP

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-07-31

Last made up to: 2024-10-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-23

Last: 2025-10-09

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MCPHAIL, Frances→

secretary · appointed 1997-10-09

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCPHAIL, Malcolm→

director · ~70y · appointed 1997-10-09

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-10-09 · resigned 1997-10-09

Resigned

FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-10-09 · resigned 1997-10-09

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Floating charge	1 property	30/08/2002	—

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