USE FOUR LIMITED
⚰️Wound downdissolved
SC231997 · ltd · incorporated 2002-05-24
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
63/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 2911
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 3430SIC 3430
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 63/100 (worth a look), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: low (45/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
11 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
63/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2010-04-02📄gazette-dissolved-compulsorygazette · GAZ2
- 2010-04-02🏁Company dissolved
- 2009-12-11📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2005-04-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2004-06-04📄legacyannual-return · 363s
- 2004-03-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-06-26📄legacyannual-return · 363s
- 2003-06-26📄legacyannual-return · 363(288)
- 2002-06-20📄legacyofficers · 288a
- 2002-06-20📄legacyofficers · 288a
- 2002-06-20📄legacyofficers · 288a
- 2002-05-24🏢Company incorporatedAs USE FOUR LIMITED
- 2002-05-24➕FOURACRE, Phylis appointedsecretary
- 2002-05-24➕FOURACRE, Stephen John appointeddirector
- 2002-05-24➕MORGAN WEBSTER LAWRIE (SECRETARIES) LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-05-24➖MORGAN WEBSTER LAWRIE (SECRETARIES) LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-05-24➕MWL DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-05-24➖MWL DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-05-24📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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
1 high ·Company dissolved
highCompany has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2010-04-02
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HALSPAN LIMITED→ SC194458 · est 1999 | £6.37M £4.95M–£7.78M | — | — | — | 27y | 83 | 77y |
| HAD-FAB LIMITED→ SC142257 · est 1993 | £1.76M £1.37M–£2.15M | — | — | 14400 | 33y | 85 | 60y |
| SPRING ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC220378 · est 2001 | £1.49M £1.16M–£1.83M | — | — | 3800 | 24y | 87 | 74y |
| WINDOW SUPPLY COMPANY LTD→ SC615256 · est 2018 | £699.9k £544.4k–£855.4k | — | — | 182 | 7y | 84 | 72y |
| EUROSTAMPA UK LTD→ SC024552 · est 1946 | £218.8k £170.2k–£267.5k | — | — | 200 | 79y | 85 | 83y |
| ARRAYJET LIMITED→ SC209936 · est 2000 | — | — | — | 25 | 25y | 83 | 73y |
| BAWBAGS LIMITED→ SC321771 · est 2007 | — | — | — | 6 | 19y | 83 | 65y |
| CANMORE PIPE BAGS LIMITED→ SC362533 · est 2009 | — | — | £53.5k | — | 16y | 83 | 58y |
| CASTLE MASONRY PRODUCTS LIMITED→ SC225802 · est 2001 | — | — | — | 18 | 24y | 83 | 62y |
| CLOCKHOUSE FURNITURE LIMITED→ SC281686 · est 2005 | — | — | £778.1k | — | 21y | 83 | 75y |
| DESIGN LED PRODUCTS LIMITED→ SC258229 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | 83 | 58y |
| HALSTON ENGINEERING LTD→ SC066605 · est 1978 | — | — | — | 600 | 47y | 83 | 61y |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
9 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
Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-05-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC2911 — SIC 2911
Registered office
2 Inchcross
Birniehill
Bathgate
Scotland
EH48 2RZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2004-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —
Officers (0 active · 2 resigned)
Active
FOURACRE, Stephen John→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2002-05-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MORGAN WEBSTER LAWRIE (SECRETARIES) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-05-24 · resigned 2002-05-24
MWL DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-05-24 · resigned 2002-05-24
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (11 total)
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2010-04-02
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2009-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2005-04-02
legacy
annual-return · 363s
2004-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2004-03-16
legacy
annual-return · 363s
2003-06-26
legacy
annual-return · 363(288)
2003-06-26
legacy
officers · 288a
2002-06-20
legacy
officers · 288a
2002-06-20
legacy
officers · 288a
2002-06-20
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2002-05-24