DAVID W. BURNS HAULAGE LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC187065 · ltd · incorporated 1998-06-25
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 18.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 81-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 81). 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 (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · oldest 18.3y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 18.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
90 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1700 | 1400 |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-03📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-11-13📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-11-13🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2023-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-06📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-07-06🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2022-06-23📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-06-23🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2022-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-30📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-12-19🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2019-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-23📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-08-21🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-03-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2008-01-31🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2008-01-27🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2007-08-01➕STEWART, David Valentine appointeddirector
- 1998-07-03➕STEWART, Sandra Burns appointedsecretary
- 1998-07-03➕BURNS, David Wallace appointeddirector
- 1998-07-03➕BURNS, Margaret Sandra appointeddirector
- 1998-07-03➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-07-03➖JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-06-25🏢Company incorporatedAs DAVID W. BURNS HAULAGE LIMITED
- 1998-06-25➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-06-25➕JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
98/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BURNS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 81 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
90/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 81 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Margaret Sandra Burns Individual · British · DOB 12/1946 · age 80 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr David Wallace Burns Individual · British · DOB 07/1945 · age 81 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 29/03/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KERR'S OF EDINBURGH LTD→ SC568681 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| LAIRD TAXIS LTD.→ SC307300 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| LALAMOVEUK LIMITED→ SC863776 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LINLITHGOW PC LIMITED→ SC366698 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| LIVIU PETROV LOGISTICS LIMITED→ SC862692 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LOTHIAN COUNTRY BUSES LIMITED→ SC127512 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| LUXURY TRANSFER SCOTLAND LTD→ SC844494 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| M&H TAXIS LTD→ SC878777 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MAILBOXES 247 LIMITED→ SC363727 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| MARCIN KOBUS HAULAGE LTD.→ SC409029 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| MARPAN LTD→ SC499535 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| MASOKA LIMITED→ SC479062 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1998-06-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road
Registered office
Unit 1d Dalhousie Business Park
Carrington Road
Bonnyrigg
Midlothian
EH19 3HY
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-19
Last: 2026-01-05
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
STEWART, Sandra Burns→
Activesecretary · appointed 1998-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BURNS, David Wallace→
Activedirector · ~81y · appointed 1998-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BURNS, Margaret Sandra→
Activedirector · ~80y · appointed 1998-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
STEWART, David Valentine→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2007-08-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-06-25 · resigned 1998-07-03
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-06-25 · resigned 1998-07-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 19/12/2019 | 23/06/2022 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 21/08/2018 | 06/07/2022 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 31/01/2008 | 13/11/2024 | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 27/01/2008 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (90 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-08
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-03
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-28
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-17