ELMHURST TRANSPORT (SCOTLAND) LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC181540 · ltd · incorporated 1997-12-16
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 27.8y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£216.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 27.8y

50/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 27.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
79 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
Positive net assets
Net assets £216,123

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£6k
Net Worth
£216k
Current Assets
£452k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-31
Total assets£395.8k
Current assets£452.3k
Cash£6.1k
Debtors£436.5k
Net assets£216.1k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-01-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-01-09
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-01-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2005-11-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland Commercial Services Limited
  17. 1998-07-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 1998-01-20
    ➕
    DONOGHUE, Shirley Agnes Denham appointed
    secretary
  19. 1998-01-20
    ➕
    DONOGHUE, Michael Anthony appointed
    director
  20. 1998-01-20
    ➕
    DONOGHUE, Shirley Agnes Denham appointed
    director
  21. 1998-01-20
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1998-01-20
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 1997-12-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ELMHURST TRANSPORT (SCOTLAND) LTD.
  24. 1997-12-16
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1997-12-16
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100
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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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 Michael Anthony Donoghue
Individual · British · DOB 04/1967 · age 59
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Shirley Agnes Denham Donoghue
Individual · British · DOB 08/1968 · age 58
25–50%
—25-50% 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 →

Similar companies

Active · Transport & logistics · KA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
MAXI HAULAGE LIMITED→
SC054932 · est 1974
£4.36M
£3.27M–£5.45M
——3310052y8882y
CCL LOGISTICS LTD→
SC199192 · est 1999
£3.37M
£2.53M–£4.22M
——580026y8560y
T FRENCH & SON LTD→
SC292873 · est 2005
£2.26M
£1.69M–£2.82M
——930020y8780y
MAXI WAREHOUSING LIMITED→
SC062338 · est 1977
£164.8k
£123.6k–£206.1k
——048y8382y
DISCOVER SCOTLAND TOURS LTD.→
SC313476 · est 2006
——£322.8k—19y8368y
FIVE STAR VEHICLE DELIVERIES LIMITED→
SC335613 · est 2007
——£279.5k—18y8359y
MORRISON (DALMARNOCK) LTD T/A DALMARNOCK TRANSPORT LTD→
SC187538 · est 1998
————27y8364y
AERO FASTENER CO. LTD.→
SC174293 · est 1997 · no financials extracted
————29y8277y
ANGUS LAMBIE MOTOR ENGINEERS LIMITED→
SC264274 · est 2004
————22y8267y
CMH TRANSPORT LIMITED→
SC195532 · est 1999
——£324.9k—27y8259y
DGT LIMITED→
SC143011 · est 1993
——£70.8k—33y8281y
JIM MAIR DRIVER TRAINING LTD→
SC321249 · est 2007
——£160.5k—19y8266y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated1997-12-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road

Registered office

37 Portland Road
Kilmarnock
Ayrshire
KA1 2DJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-30
Last: 2025-12-16

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

DONOGHUE, Shirley Agnes Denham→
secretary · appointed 1998-01-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DONOGHUE, Michael Anthony→
director · ~59y · appointed 1998-01-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DONOGHUE, Shirley Agnes Denham→
director · ~58y · appointed 1998-01-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-12-16 · resigned 1998-01-20
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-12-16 · resigned 1998-01-20
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland Commercial Services Limited
Floating charge1 property15/11/2005—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property02/07/1998—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (79 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2018-12-31