ST. ANDREWS AQUARIUM LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC198797 · ltd · incorporated 1999-08-10
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
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
—
year to Oct 2024
Net worth
£794.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Museum activities
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 91040Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserve activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 23.3y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 23.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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, 2 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 (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
81 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £794,741
Cash YoY
-1%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£590k
↓ 1.0% YoY
Net Worth
£795k
↑ 13% YoY
Current Assets
£627k
↓ 1.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £828.5k | £778.0k |
| Current assets | £627.4k | £636.1k |
| Cash | £589.8k | £595.9k |
| Debtors | £3.3k | £20.4k |
| Net assets | £794.7k | £700.8k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-17➖MACE, Lesley Ann resigneddirector
- 2025-03-17📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-02-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-02-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-02-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-02-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-02-18📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-15📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2021-10-05📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2021-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-13➕MACE, John Anthony appointeddirector
- 2015-11-16➖MACE, Guy Whitmore resignedsecretary
- 2015-11-16➖MACE, Guy Whitmore resigneddirector
- 2003-02-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Scottish Enterprise Fife
- 1999-10-22➕MACE, Guy Whitmore appointedsecretary
- 1999-10-22➖LYCIDAS SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-10-22➕MACE, Guy Whitmore appointeddirector
- 1999-10-22➕MACE, Lesley Ann appointeddirector
- 1999-10-22➖LYCIDAS NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1999-08-10🏢Company incorporatedAs ST. ANDREWS AQUARIUM LIMITED
- 1999-08-10➕LYCIDAS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-08-10➕LYCIDAS NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Clare Suzanne Ashcroft Individual · British · DOB 08/1984 · age 42 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 25/10/2024 |
Mr John Anthony Mace Individual · British · DOB 08/1978 · age 48 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 25/10/2024 |
Mr James Whitmore Mace Individual · British · DOB 08/1980 · age 46 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 25/10/2024 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Leslie Anne Maceceased 24/10/2024· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Leisure & entertainment · KY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KNOCKHILL RACING CIRCUIT LIMITED→ SC099128 · est 1986 | — | — | — | 5400 | 40y | 83 | 64y |
| BOWHOUSE EQUESTRIAN LIMITED→ SC380348 · est 2010 | — | — | — | 0 | 16y | 82 | 69y |
| COLINSBURGH GOLF LIMITED→ SC135648 · est 1991 | — | — | — | 900 | 34y | 82 | 80y |
| JIM MCARTHUR ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC119828 · est 1989 | — | — | — | 100 | 36y | 82 | 74y |
| SCOTLAND FOR GOLF LIMITED→ SC246486 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 500 | 23y | 82 | 70y |
| WESTMINT LIMITED→ SC168995 · est 1996 | — | — | — | — | 29y | 82 | 67y |
| KNOCKHILL MOTOR SPORTS CLUB→ SC366259 · est 2009 | — | — | — | 600 | 16y | 81 | 76y |
| LA BANDA LTD.→ SC362458 · est 2009 | — | — | £8.5k | — | 16y | 81 | 67y |
| SCOTTISH DARTS ASSOCIATION→ SC105949 · est 1987 | — | — | — | 4 | 38y | 81 | 67y |
| THE FIFE VINTAGE AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY CLUB→ SC193588 · est 1999 | — | — | £22.8k | — | 27y | 81 | 77y |
| THE KINGDOM OF FIFE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY→ SC138632 · est 1992 | — | — | — | 0 | 34y | 81 | 85y |
| BURACH PRODUCTIONS LIMITED→ SC140727 · est 1992 | — | — | £3.2k | — | 33y | 80 | 67y |
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
Incorporated1999-08-10
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC91020 — Museum activities
Registered office
Hillside Lucklawhill
Balmullo
St. Andrews
KY16 0BQ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-16
Last: 2026-05-02
Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)
MACE, John Anthony→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2018-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MACE, Guy Whitmore→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-10-22 · resigned 2015-11-16
LYCIDAS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-08-10 · resigned 1999-10-22
MACE, Guy Whitmore→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 1999-10-22 · resigned 2015-11-16
MACE, Lesley Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · appointed 1999-10-22 · resigned 2025-03-17
LYCIDAS NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-08-10 · resigned 1999-10-22
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Scottish Enterprise Fife | Standard security | 1 property | 17/02/2003 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (81 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-03
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-03-17
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-02-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-02-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-02-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-02-18
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-07-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-07-29