LJF POWDER COATING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC199146 · ltd · incorporated 1999-08-23
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£2.30M
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Treatment and coating of metals
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 26.7y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 26.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (1 active, 10 linked, 5 with DOB)
80
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
93 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2,300,751
Cash YoY
+91%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£681k
↑ 91% YoY
Net Worth
£2.3m
↑ 6.7% YoY
Current Assets
£2.5m
↑ 5.3% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£506k£1.0m£1.5m£2.0m£2.5mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£2.92M£2.66M
Current assets£2.53M£2.40M
Cash£680.8k£356.7k
Debtors£1.52M£1.70M
Net assets£2.30M£2.16M

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (38 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-30
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2024-03-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2024-03-14
    ➖
    STRONACHS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  6. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-12-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  8. 2022-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-08-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  11. 2020-04-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-02-12
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  15. 2018-02-12
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  16. 2017-11-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2013-12-23
    ➖
    MASSON & GLENNIE resigned
    corporate-secretary
  18. 2013-12-23
    ➕
    STRONACHS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  19. 2013-12-23
    ➖
    DUNCAN, William George resigned
    director
  20. 2013-12-23
    ➖
    MACKIE, Graham Alexander resigned
    director
  21. 2009-03-10
    ➕
    CLARK, Charles William Dunbar appointed
    director
  22. 2009-03-10
    ➖
    FARMAN, June resigned
    secretary
  23. 2009-03-10
    ➕
    MASSON & GLENNIE appointed
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2009-03-10
    ➕
    DUNCAN, William George appointed
    director
  25. 2009-03-10
    ➖
    FARMAN, June resigned
    director
  26. 2009-03-10
    ➖
    FARMAN, Leslie resigned
    director
  27. 2009-03-10
    ➕
    MACKIE, Graham Alexander appointed
    director
  28. 2009-03-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  29. 2007-04-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  30. 1999-11-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  31. 1999-08-24
    ➕
    FARMAN, June appointed
    secretary
  32. 1999-08-24
    ➖
    THE COMMERCIAL LAW PRACTICE resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  33. 1999-08-24
    ➕
    FARMAN, June appointed
    director
  34. 1999-08-24
    ➕
    FARMAN, Leslie appointed
    director
  35. 1999-08-24
    ➖
    MMA NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  36. 1999-08-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As LJF POWDER COATING LIMITED
  37. 1999-08-23
    ➕
    THE COMMERCIAL LAW PRACTICE appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  38. 1999-08-23
    ➕
    MMA NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple 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.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • 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.)

Group structure

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

🏛️
Ljf Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
LJF POWDER COATING LIMITED
This company · SC199146

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Ljf Group Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% 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 →

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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
Incorporated1999-08-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC25610 — Treatment and coating of metals

Registered office

5 Carden Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1UT
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-22
Last: 2025-12-08

Officers (1 active · 9 resigned)

CLARK, Charles William Dunbar→
director · ~53y · appointed 2009-03-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FARMAN, June→
secretary · appointed 1999-08-24 · resigned 2009-03-10
Resigned
MASSON & GLENNIE→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2009-03-10 · resigned 2013-12-23
Resigned
STRONACHS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2013-12-23 · resigned 2024-03-14
Resigned
THE COMMERCIAL LAW PRACTICE→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-08-23 · resigned 1999-08-24
Resigned
DUNCAN, William George→
director · ~69y · appointed 2009-03-10 · resigned 2013-12-23
Resigned
FARMAN, June→
director · ~75y · appointed 1999-08-24 · resigned 2009-03-10
Resigned
FARMAN, Leslie→
director · ~81y · appointed 1999-08-24 · resigned 2009-03-10
Resigned
MACKIE, Graham Alexander→
director · ~70y · appointed 2009-03-10 · resigned 2013-12-23
Resigned
MMA NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-08-23 · resigned 1999-08-24
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
Floating charge1 property10/03/2009—
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property15/11/199914/04/2007
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (93 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-21
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-05-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2022-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-19