THE GENTLE TOUCH (STRATHAVEN) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC204922 · ltd · incorporated 2000-03-13

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Hairdressing and other beauty treatment

Sector: Other service activities

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). 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 21.8y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 21.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

63 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	200	300

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2025-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-04-28
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-03-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-04-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2004-07-09
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2000-03-13
🏢
Company incorporated
As THE GENTLE TOUCH (STRATHAVEN) LIMITED
2000-03-13
➕
WELCH, Barbara appointed
secretary
2000-03-13
➕
JOHNSTON, Paula appointed
director
2000-03-13
➕
ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2000-03-13
➖
ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2000-03-13
➕
ACS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2000-03-13
➖
ACS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100

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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
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 26 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Paula Johnston Individual · British · DOB 06/1968 · age 58	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.

Similar companies

Active · Trade services · PH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ROBERT CAMERON HAIR LTD→ SC555207 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ROCOCO LTD→ SC543485 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
SOFIA SPMU LIMITED→ SC786868 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
SPEY TURBO MACHINERY LTD→ SC551511 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
STEVEN MACRAILD (ELECTRICAL) LIMITED→ SC652885 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
T & L SMITH→ SC095588 · est 1985 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	40y	—	—
TAYTECH SECURITY LIMITED→ SC711128 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
THE ABERDEEN ANGUS BEEF CLUB LIMITED→ SC232399 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
THE ABERDEEN-ANGUS CATTLE SOCIETY→ SC000926 · est 1879 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	146y	—	—
THE BUNKER GROUP LTD.→ SC667563 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
THE HONEYPOT CHILDRENS NURSERY LIMITED→ SC197818 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	26y	—	—
THE KILTED COACHES LTD→ SC698832 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—

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

Incorporated2000-03-13

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC96020 — Hairdressing and other beauty treatment

Registered office

22 Graemeslea View

Aberuthven

Auchterarder

Perthshire

PH3 1FG

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-27

Last: 2026-03-13

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

WELCH, Barbara→

secretary · appointed 2000-03-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

JOHNSTON, Paula→

director · ~58y · appointed 2000-03-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-03-13 · resigned 2000-03-13

Resigned

ACS NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-03-13 · resigned 2000-03-13

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Standard security	1 property	09/07/2004	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.