STUART GEARTY (INSURANCE SERVICES) LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC195449 · ltd · incorporated 1999-04-20
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of insurance agents and brokers
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 87-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 87). 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 26.3y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 26.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
73 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.

Key financials

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

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Average employees4500

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
3
filings
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  2. 2026-04-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2026-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-05-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  6. 2024-05-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2023-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-01-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-01-24
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2022-01-19
    ➖
    ROWE, Andrew resigned
    director
  12. 2021-04-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-02-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-07-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-02-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2000-05-01
    ➕
    GEARTY, Stuart Simpson appointed
    director
  18. 2000-05-01
    ➖
    GEARTY, Jean Boyd Rodgers Urquhart resigned
    director
  19. 2000-02-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  20. 1999-05-01
    ➕
    GEARTY, Stuart Simpson appointed
    secretary
  21. 1999-04-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As STUART GEARTY (INSURANCE SERVICES) LTD.
  22. 1999-04-20
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1999-04-20
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1999-04-20
    ➕
    GEARTY, Jean Boyd Rodgers Urquhart appointed
    director
  25. 1999-04-20
    ➕
    ROWE, Andrew appointed
    director
  26. 1999-04-20
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 1999-04-20
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GEARTY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 87 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 87 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stuart Simpson Gearty
Individual · British · DOB 03/1939 · age 87
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · trust interest01/04/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Jean Boyd Rodgers Urquhart Geartyceased 13/01/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated1999-04-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC66220 — Activities of insurance agents and brokers

Registered office

86 Bell Street
Dundee
Tayside
DD1 1JQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-26
Last: 2026-04-12

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

GEARTY, Stuart Simpson→
secretary · appointed 1999-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GEARTY, Stuart Simpson→
director · ~87y · appointed 2000-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-04-20 · resigned 1999-04-20
Resigned
GEARTY, Jean Boyd Rodgers Urquhart→
director · ~88y · appointed 1999-04-20 · resigned 2000-05-01
Resigned
ROWE, Andrew→
director · ~59y · appointed 1999-04-20 · resigned 2022-01-19
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-04-20 · resigned 1999-04-20
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property14/02/2000—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (73 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-13
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-05-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-01-24