FCE HYDRAULICS LTD
🌳Matureactive
SC191289 · ltd · incorporated 1998-11-19
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 27.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£655.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 27.3y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 27.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (5 active, 8 linked, 6 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
75 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £655,458
Cash YoY
+379%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£798k
↑ 379% YoY
Net Worth
£655k
↑ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↑ 38% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £736.4k | £690.1k |
| Current assets | £1.42M | £1.03M |
| Cash | £797.7k | £166.4k |
| Debtors | £601.8k | £839.7k |
| Net assets | £655.5k | £595.5k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-28📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-11-28📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-06-01➕HAMILTON, Mark appointeddirector
- 2023-06-01➕ROLLO, Anddrew appointeddirector
- 2022-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-05📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-04-01➕RINTOUL, Nicholas appointeddirector
- 2021-01-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2021-01-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-09📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-05-01➕RINTOUL, Robert appointeddirector
- 2018-11-10📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2018-11-10🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2018-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-08📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2018-11-02➖RINTOUL, James resignedsecretary
- 1998-12-30🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1998-11-19🏢Company incorporatedAs FCE HYDRAULICS LTD
- 1998-11-19➕RINTOUL, John appointeddirector
- 1998-11-19➕REID, Brian appointednominee-secretary
- 1998-11-19➖REID, Brian resignednominee-secretary
- 1998-11-19➕RINTOUL, James appointedsecretary
- 1998-11-19➕MABBOTT, Stephen appointednominee-director
- 1998-11-19➖MABBOTT, Stephen resignednominee-director
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- -5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
70/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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.)
Group structure
Fce Group Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Fce Group Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
FCE HYDRAULICS LTD
This company · SC191289
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fce Group Ltd Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIFE COOPERAGE LIMITED→ SC817121 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| FIFE MEMORIALS LTD→ SC399948 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| FIFE SHUTTERS LIMITED→ SC240232 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| FOSSGAR SERVICES LIMITED→ SC517010 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| FULLY FITTED WARDROBES LIMITED→ SC506051 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| FUSION POLYMERS LTD→ SC792209 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| G KELLY LTD→ SC528989 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| GABELLONE RIGGING LTD→ SC544366 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| GARVOCK SERVICES LIMITED→ SC244246 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| GB PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT LTD.→ SC558065 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| GEM CARAVANS (FIFE) LTD→ SC469992 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| GEMLOCK LIMITED→ SC504850 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1998-11-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990
Registered office
Taylor Stiles Building
Methilhaven Road
Aberhill, Leven
Fife
KY8 3LA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-16
Last: 2026-01-02
Officers (5 active · 3 resigned)
HAMILTON, Mark→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2023-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RINTOUL, John→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 1998-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RINTOUL, Nicholas→
Activedirector · ~38y · appointed 2021-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RINTOUL, Robert→
Activedirector · ~42y · appointed 2019-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ROLLO, Anddrew→
Activedirector · ~40y · appointed 2023-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
REID, Brian→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1998-11-19 · resigned 1998-11-19
RINTOUL, James→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-11-19 · resigned 2018-11-02
MABBOTT, Stephen→
Resignednominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1998-11-19 · resigned 1998-11-19
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 30/12/1998 | 10/11/2018 |
Recent filings (75 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-11-28
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-10
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-10-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2021-01-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-01-19