ANDREW HUGHES CHEMISTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC205281 · ltd · incorporated 2000-03-21

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 May 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Dispensing chemist in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (80/100, director aged 63). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 24.5y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 24.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· 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

Lenders & charges

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

5 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

71 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 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-05-31	2024-05-31

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

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand

2026-02-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-03
➖
DAVIDSON, Graeme Niven resigned
secretary
2023-04-03
➖
DAVIDSON, Graeme Niven resigned
director
2023-04-03
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-04-03
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-02-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-02-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-02-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-02-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-05
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-02-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-04-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2005-09-02
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2005-09-02
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2005-06-01
➕
MCANERNEY, Edward Raymond appointed
director
2005-06-01
➕
DAVIDSON, Graeme Niven appointed
secretary
2005-06-01
➖
HUGHES, Sheila resigned
secretary
2005-06-01
➕
DAVIDSON, Graeme Niven appointed
director
2005-06-01
➖
HUGHES, Andrew resigned
director
2001-12-19
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2001-12-19
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2000-03-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As ANDREW HUGHES CHEMISTS LIMITED
2000-03-21
➕
HUGHES, Sheila appointed
secretary
2000-03-21
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2000-03-21
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2000-03-21
➕
HUGHES, Andrew appointed
director
2000-03-21
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2000-03-21
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. 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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

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 63. 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 21 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.)

Group structure

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

🏛️

Goldie Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

ANDREW HUGHES CHEMISTS LIMITED

This company · SC205281

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
Goldie Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Retail · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
WILLIAM YOUNG (KILMARNOCK) LIMITED→ SC032275 · est 1957	£2.75M £2.06M–£3.44M	—	—	53	69y	82	72y
J & W CARPETS LIMITED→ SC362931 · est 2009	£258.4k £193.8k–£322.9k	—	—	67	16y	83	48y
KIRKMICHAEL VILLAGE RENAISSANCE→ SC376521 · est 2010	—	—	£46.6k	—	16y	83	80y
MC STORES LIMITED→ SC387053 · est 2010	—	—	£678.2k	—	15y	83	74y
QUEST FARM SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC362924 · est 2009	—	—	£2.06M	—	16y	83	59y
A.L. PAINT AND SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC173153 · est 1997	—	—	£973.9k	—	29y	82	74y
AGRI-INPUT DIRECT LIMITED→ SC207700 · est 2000	—	—	£315.0k	—	25y	82	59y
AM SERVICE STATIONS LIMITED→ SC211245 · est 2000	—	—	—	13	25y	82	59y
BDC FUELS LIMITED→ SC229389 · est 2002	—	—	—	2100	24y	82	67y
C MCCALLUM LIMITED→ SC264993 · est 2004	—	—	—	33	22y	82	63y
CARPET CLEARANCE LIMITED→ SC244523 · est 2003	—	—	£120.8k	—	23y	82	61y
D-I-Y AYRSHIRE LIMITED→ SC304125 · est 2006	—	—	£430.5k	—	19y	82	61y

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

Incorporated2000-03-21

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47730 — Dispensing chemist in specialised stores

Registered office

Woodburn

Brisbane Glen Road

Largs

Ayrshire

KA30 8SL

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-04

Last: 2026-03-21

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

MCANERNEY, Edward Raymond→

director · ~63y · appointed 2005-06-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DAVIDSON, Graeme Niven→

secretary · appointed 2005-06-01 · resigned 2023-04-03

Resigned

HUGHES, Sheila→

secretary · appointed 2000-03-21 · resigned 2005-06-01

Resigned

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-03-21 · resigned 2000-03-21

Resigned

DAVIDSON, Graeme Niven→

director · ~67y · appointed 2005-06-01 · resigned 2023-04-03

Resigned

HUGHES, Andrew→

director · ~81y · appointed 2000-03-21 · resigned 2005-06-01

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-03-21 · resigned 2000-03-21

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown

			Type	Properties
	satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Assignation of goodwill in business	1 property	19/12/2001	02/09/2005
	satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Bond & floating charge	1 property	19/12/2001	02/09/2005

Recent filings (71 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-03-27

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-02-16

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-05-22

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-02-25

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-04-03

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-02-15

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-04-27

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

officers · TM01

2023-04-03

termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM02

2023-04-03

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2023-02-14

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-03-30

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2022-02-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2021-04-21

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-04-01

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2020-05-12