MACFARLANE GRAY FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC197774 · ltd · incorporated 1999-07-02

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 Jul 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Administration of financial markets

Sector: Financial & insurance

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

5 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

76 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	4	400

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand

2026-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-01
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-25
➖
SKILLING, Alan John resigned
director
2025-08-08
➖
CALLAN, Gregory resigned
director
2025-08-08
➖
WATERS, Ellen resigned
director
2025-08-08
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-08
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-04-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-12
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2024-06-12
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-10-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-17
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-04-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-09-18
📄
legacy
miscellaneous · RP04CS01
2018-09-18
📄
legacy
miscellaneous · RP04CS01
2018-02-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2015-03-02
➖
LAFFERTY, Denise Marie Marcelle resigned
secretary
2015-03-02
➖
LAFFERTY, Denise Marie Marcelle resigned
director
2009-08-11
➕
CALLAN, Gregory appointed
director
2009-08-11
➕
WATERS, Ellen appointed
director
2009-08-01
➕
SKILLING, Alan John appointed
director
2008-04-01
➕
LAFFERTY, Denise Marie Marcelle appointed
secretary
2008-03-31
➖
MACFARLANE GRAY CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS resigned
corporate-secretary
1999-07-02
🏢
Company incorporated
As MACFARLANE GRAY FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED
1999-07-02
➕
CATTERSON, Eric James appointed
director
1999-07-02
➕
MACFARLANE GRAY CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS appointed
corporate-secretary
1999-07-02
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1999-07-02
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1999-07-02
➕
LAFFERTY, Denise Marie Marcelle appointed
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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 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

1 med ·

3 director resignations in last 12 months

medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: CALLAN, Gregory resigned 2025-08-08; SKILLING, Alan John resigned 2025-08-25; WATERS, Ellen resigned 2025-08-08

Group structure

Larreb Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Larreb Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

MACFARLANE GRAY FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

This company · SC197774

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
Larreb Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	30/05/2024

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Macfarlane Gray Wealth Management Ltdceased 30/05/2024· 75-100% shares

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 · Financial services · FK postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
RUSSEL + AITKEN NOMINEES LIMITED→ SC052053 · est 1972	—	—	—	5	53y	83	69y
FULCRUM INSURED EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LIMITED→ SC335390 · est 2007	—	—	£89.8k	—	18y	82	65y
GEORGE GILL FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD.→ SC299207 · est 2006	—	—	£110.3k	—	20y	82	61y
FRASER TENNANT FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC249345 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	81	61y
A.R.D. CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC334089 · est 2007	—	—	—	900	18y	80	64y
ASM RECOVERY LIMITED→ SC340517 · est 2008	—	—	—	100	18y	80	65y
ASSET & GENERAL FINANCE LTD→ SC308532 · est 2006	—	—	£1.6k	—	19y	80	63y
FALKIRK MORTGAGE ADVICE CENTRE (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC358034 · est 2009	—	—	£16.8k	—	17y	80	59y
GT MORTGAGES LTD.→ SC298635 · est 2006	—	—	—	200	20y	80	67y
HAZELL CARR (AT) SERVICES LIMITED→ SC420031 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	80	59y
KINGS PARK FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC264618 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	80	64y
DENIS O. BROWN & ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC046416 · est 1969 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	57y	—	—

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

Incorporated1999-07-02

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC66110 — Administration of financial markets

Registered office

12 Melville Terrace

Stirling

FK8 2NE

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-06-26

Last: 2025-06-12

Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)

CATTERSON, Eric James→

director · ~65y · appointed 1999-07-02

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LAFFERTY, Denise Marie Marcelle→

secretary · appointed 2008-04-01 · resigned 2015-03-02

Resigned

MACFARLANE GRAY CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS→

corporate-secretary · appointed 1999-07-02 · resigned 2008-03-31

Resigned

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-07-02 · resigned 1999-07-02

Resigned

CALLAN, Gregory→

director · ~64y · appointed 2009-08-11 · resigned 2025-08-08

Resigned

LAFFERTY, Denise Marie Marcelle→

director · ~72y · appointed 1999-07-02 · resigned 2015-03-02

Resigned

SKILLING, Alan John→

director · ~68y · appointed 2009-08-01 · resigned 2025-08-25

Resigned

WATERS, Ellen→

director · ~61y · appointed 2009-08-11 · resigned 2025-08-08

Resigned

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

Recent filings (76 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2026-04-27

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2025-09-01

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2025-08-08

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2025-08-08

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-07-17

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-04-14

notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC02

2024-06-12

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC07

2024-06-12

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-06-12

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-10-06

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-06-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-01-06

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-06-16

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2021-12-24

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-06-15