BLACKS HAULAGE SOLUTIONS LTD

🌳Matureactive
SC233251 · ltd · incorporated 2002-06-25
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£280.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -46% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 11.3y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 11.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
82 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 £280,529
Net assets shrinking
Down £298,571 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 46% YoY
Cash YoY
-46%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£133k
↓ 46% YoY
Net Worth
£281k
↓ 52% YoY
Current Assets
£954k
↓ 21% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£242k£484k£726k£969k£1.2mDec 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£918.7k£1.16M
Current assets£953.6k£1.21M
Cash£132.7k£244.3k
Debtors£812.1k£921.7k
Net assets£280.5k£579.1k

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 (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-06-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2021-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-07-29
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  8. 2021-01-21
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  9. 2020-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-09-18
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  11. 2020-02-05
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2020-02-05
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  13. 2020-01-23
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  14. 2019-12-10
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  15. 2019-12-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Bibby Invoice Discounting Limited
  16. 2019-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-07-10
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  18. 2019-07-09
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  19. 2019-07-02
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  20. 2019-04-05
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · RP04CS01
  21. 2016-11-14
    ➖
    BLACK, John resigned
    secretary
  22. 2016-11-14
    ➖
    BLACK, John resigned
    director
  23. 2015-11-19
    ➕
    BLACK, Michelle April appointed
    director
  24. 2015-01-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  25. 2007-09-01
    ➕
    BLACK, Stuart Ian appointed
    director
  26. 2007-09-01
    ➖
    BLACK, Gordon resigned
    director
  27. 2002-06-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLACKS HAULAGE SOLUTIONS LTD
  28. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    BLACK, John appointed
    secretary
  29. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2002-06-25
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    BLACK, Gordon appointed
    director
  32. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    BLACK, John appointed
    director
  33. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  34. 2002-06-25
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

91/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BLACK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

59/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • 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

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stuart Ian Black
Individual · British · DOB 03/1981 · age 45
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr John Blackceased 10/06/2019· 25-50% shares

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

6 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
Incorporated2002-06-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road

Registered office

Nethermuir, New Road
Bathgate
West Lothian
EH48 4LF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-09
Last: 2025-06-25

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

BLACK, Michelle April→
director · ~45y · appointed 2015-11-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLACK, Stuart Ian→
director · ~45y · appointed 2007-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLACK, John→
secretary · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2016-11-14
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2002-06-25
Resigned
BLACK, Gordon→
director · ~63y · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2007-09-01
Resigned
BLACK, John→
director · ~70y · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2016-11-14
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2002-06-25
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
Bibby Financial Services
Bibby Invoice Discounting Limited
A registered charge—10/12/2019—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—13/01/201505/02/2020
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (82 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-29
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2021-07-29
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2021-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-25
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2020-09-18