INDEPENDENT FIRST LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC221380 · ltd · incorporated 2001-07-19
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
£207.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
66 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £207,363

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£207k
↑ 5.5% YoY
Current Assets
£244k
↓ 14% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£57k£114k£171k£228k£285kAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£207.4k£196.5k
Current assets£244.2k£284.7k
Net assets£207.4k£196.5k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

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 (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-11-04
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  7. 2020-11-03
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2020-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-04-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2016-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-09-01
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2004-11-01
    ➕
    RAINEY, Edward Higgins appointed
    secretary
  17. 2004-11-01
    ➕
    RAINEY, Edward Higgins appointed
    director
  18. 2004-10-31
    ➖
    ABRAHAM, Agnes Blair resigned
    secretary
  19. 2001-08-03
    ➕
    ABRAHAM, Agnes Blair appointed
    secretary
  20. 2001-07-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As INDEPENDENT FIRST LIMITED
  21. 2001-07-19
    ➕
    ABRAHAM, Scott John appointed
    director
  22. 2001-07-19
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2001-07-19
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2001-07-19
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2001-07-19
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Edward Higgins Rainey
Individual · British · DOB 02/1960 · age 66
25–50%
—25-50% shares19/07/2016
Mr Scott John Abraham
Individual · British · DOB 05/1968 · age 58
25–50%
—25-50% shares19/07/2016

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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2001-07-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

Mirren Court One
119 Renfrew Road
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA3 4EA
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-02
Last: 2025-07-19

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

RAINEY, Edward Higgins→
secretary · appointed 2004-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ABRAHAM, Scott John→
director · ~58y · appointed 2001-07-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RAINEY, Edward Higgins→
director · ~66y · appointed 2004-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ABRAHAM, Agnes Blair→
secretary · appointed 2001-08-03 · resigned 2004-10-31
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-07-19 · resigned 2001-07-19
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-07-19 · resigned 2001-07-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (66 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2020-11-04
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2020-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-26