AQUASKY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC189598 · ltd · incorporated 1998-09-22
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

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
£303.3k
year to Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33190
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Conservative operator with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (78/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
78 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Profitable
Profit before tax £105,357
Turnover YoY
+6%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Turnover£303.3k£284.8k
Gross profit£277.3k£264.8k
Profit before tax£105.4k£119.0k
Average employees400300

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 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2026-01-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2026-01-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-09-03
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2025-09-03
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2025-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-04-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-01-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-11-16
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  13. 2019-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-10-04
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2017-10-04
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  17. 2012-06-01
    ➕
    BARLOW, Vivien Mary appointed
    secretary
  18. 2012-06-01
    ➖
    PEDEN, Lynn resigned
    secretary
  19. 2011-08-01
    ➕
    BARLOW, Fergus appointed
    director
  20. 2010-10-01
    ➕
    BARLOW, Vivien Mary appointed
    director
  21. 2007-09-12
    ➖
    BARLOW, Heather Ann resigned
    secretary
  22. 2007-09-12
    ➕
    PEDEN, Lynn appointed
    secretary
  23. 1998-10-13
    ➕
    BARLOW, Stephen Leslie appointed
    director
  24. 1998-10-13
    ➕
    BARLOW, Heather Ann appointed
    secretary
  25. 1998-10-13
    ➖
    REID, Brian resigned
    nominee-secretary
  26. 1998-10-13
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
    nominee-director
  27. 1998-09-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AQUASKY LIMITED
  28. 1998-09-22
    ➕
    REID, Brian appointed
    nominee-secretary
  29. 1998-09-22
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
    nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — 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 candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stephen Leslie Barlow
Individual · British · DOB 06/1952 · age 74
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Fergus Stephen Barlow
Individual · British · DOB 12/1992 · age 34
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Vivien Mary Barlow
Individual · British · DOB 06/1953 · age 73
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 · Manufacturing · PA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY SYSTEMS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→
SC313968 · est 2006
£18.63M
£14.49M–£22.77M
———19y8386y
PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY SYSTEMS LIMITED→
SC080712 · est 1982
£13.66M
£10.63M–£16.70M
——2770043y8886y
SAFER SCOTLAND LTD→
SC526884 · est 2016
£6.90M
£5.37M–£8.44M
£12.22M—660010y8565y
SMITH & MCLAURIN LIMITED→
SC229817 · est 2002
£3.37M
£2.62M–£4.12M
——750024y8568y
CARLTON DIE CASTINGS LIMITED→
SC083494 · est 1983
——£704.5k—42y8383y
DAVID SMITH (FABRICATORS) LIMITED→
SC056938 · est 1975
——£184.3k—51y8358y
JGB STEELCRAFT (U.K.) LIMITED→
SC130494 · est 1991
——£673.3k—35y8360y
MCKINLAY & BLAIR LIMITED→
SC052147 · est 1973 · no financials extracted
————53y8368y
STRATHBOND LIMITED→
SC044198 · est 1967
——£511.8k—59y8363y
A MCPHERSON (BLACKSMITHS) LIMITED→
SC089569 · est 1984
——£27.4k—41y8287y
ADAM MILLAR & SONS LTD.→
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——£262.7k—23y8258y
ALBA TYRE MANAGEMENT LIMITED→
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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
Incorporated1998-09-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC33190 — SIC 33190

Registered office

Sidhean Beag
Kilmore
Argyll
PA34 4XX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-17
Last: 2025-09-03

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

BARLOW, Vivien Mary→
secretary · appointed 2012-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARLOW, Fergus→
director · ~34y · appointed 2011-08-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARLOW, Stephen Leslie→
director · ~74y · appointed 1998-10-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARLOW, Vivien Mary→
director · ~73y · appointed 2010-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARLOW, Heather Ann→
secretary · appointed 1998-10-13 · resigned 2007-09-12
Resigned
PEDEN, Lynn→
secretary · appointed 2007-09-12 · resigned 2012-06-01
Resigned
REID, Brian→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-09-22 · resigned 1998-10-13
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen→
nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1998-09-22 · resigned 1998-10-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (78 total)

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-06-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-09-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-28