MOUNTCASTLE TAXIS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC188185 · ltd · incorporated 1998-08-04
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 49320
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
11 officers (4 active, 11 linked, 8 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
79 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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 | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (34 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-05-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-09-02➕LITTLE, Nicola Jane appointeddirector
- 2014-09-02📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2001-08-29➕FERN, Janet appointedsecretary
- 2001-05-14➖HEATHERILL, Frederick Harry Baldry resigneddirector
- 2000-12-07➕FERN, Janet appointeddirector
- 2000-12-07➖RODDICK, Caroline resignedsecretary
- 2000-12-07➖HEATHERILL, Irene May Duncan resigneddirector
- 2000-12-07➖RODDICK, Caroline resigneddirector
- 2000-12-06➕FERN, James Alexander Chisholm appointeddirector
- 1998-08-04🏢Company incorporatedAs MOUNTCASTLE TAXIS LIMITED
- 1998-08-04➕RODDICK, Caroline appointedsecretary
- 1998-08-04➕TRAINER, Diane appointednominee-secretary
- 1998-08-04➖TRAINER, Diane resignednominee-secretary
- 1998-08-04➕HEATHERILL, Frederick Harry Baldry appointeddirector
- 1998-08-04➕HEATHERILL, Irene May Duncan appointeddirector
- 1998-08-04➕MCINTOSH, Susan appointednominee-director
- 1998-08-04➖MCINTOSH, Susan resignednominee-director
- 1998-08-04➕RODDICK, Caroline appointeddirector
- 1998-08-04➕TRAINER, Peter appointednominee-director
- 1998-08-04➖TRAINER, Peter resignednominee-director
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Alexander Chisholm Fern Individual · British · DOB 09/1962 · age 64 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence · trust interest · firm interest | 11/08/2016 |
Mrs Janet Fern Individual · British · DOB 07/1967 · age 59 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence · trust interest · firm interest | 11/08/2016 |
Mrs Nicola Jane Little Individual · British · DOB 09/1990 · age 36 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence · trust interest · firm interest | 11/08/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Transport & logistics · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIMBERBUSH TOURS LIMITED→ SC279983 · est 2005 | £8.60M £6.45M–£10.75M | — | — | 109 | 21y | 85 | 65y |
| EAGLE COURIERS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC292831 · est 2005 | £3.09M £2.32M–£3.86M | — | — | — | 20y | 87 | 61y |
| EAGLE COURIERS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC092113 · est 1985 | £3.09M £2.32M–£3.86M | — | — | 50 | 41y | 87 | 61y |
| A WILLIAMSON HAULAGE LIMITED→ SC306338 · est 2006 | — | — | £1.27M | — | 19y | 82 | 78y |
| A. JOHNSTONE HAULAGE LTD.→ SC283850 · est 2005 | — | — | £512.2k | — | 21y | 82 | 62y |
| ANDREW BLACK LIMITED→ SC224735 · est 2001 | — | — | £3.88M | — | 24y | 82 | 64y |
| BROUGHTON REMOVALS LIMITED→ SC181756 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | 82 | 83y |
| CHAUFFEUR DRIVE SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC394052 · est 2011 | — | — | £231.3k | — | 15y | 82 | 65y |
| DEREK HEEPS LIMITED→ SC167126 · est 1996 | — | — | — | 3000 | 29y | 82 | 63y |
| DUNBAR REMOVALS AND STORAGE LTD.→ SC165409 · est 1996 | — | — | — | 13 | 30y | 82 | 71y |
| TIBS LOGISTICS LTD→ SC819555 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| WHITAKER MARITIME LTD→ SC377704 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1998-08-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49320 — SIC 49320
Registered office
44 Baberton Mains Wood
Edinburgh
EH14 3EZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-25
Last: 2025-08-11
Officers (4 active · 7 resigned)
Active
FERN, James Alexander Chisholm→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2000-12-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITTLE, Nicola Jane→
Activedirector · ~36y · appointed 2014-09-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RODDICK, Caroline→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 2000-12-07
TRAINER, Diane→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 1998-08-04
HEATHERILL, Frederick Harry Baldry→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 2001-05-14
HEATHERILL, Irene May Duncan→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 2000-12-07
MCINTOSH, Susan→
Resignednominee-director · ~56y · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 1998-08-04
RODDICK, Caroline→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 2000-12-07
TRAINER, Peter→
Resignednominee-director · ~74y · appointed 1998-08-04 · resigned 1998-08-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (79 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2019-08-11