FORWARD STEPS NURSERY LTD.

🌳Matureactive

SC235287 · ltd · incorporated 2002-08-13

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

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 21.5y old — refinance window within 12 months

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Aug 2024

Net worth

£107.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

83/100

Exceptional

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

What this business does

Primary activity: Child day-care activities

Sector: Human health & social work

Investor take

Pursue

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

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 21.5y

65/100

clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

· Oldest live charge is 21.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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

5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

56 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

83/100Exceptional

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £107,866

Cash YoY

+17%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£123k

↑ 17% YoY

Net Worth

£108k

↑ 16% YoY

Current Assets

£124k

↑ 16% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-08-31	2023-08-31
Total assets	£107.9k	£92.9k
Current assets	£123.6k	£107.0k
Cash	£122.6k	£104.4k
Debtors	£1.0k	£2.5k
Net assets	£107.9k	£92.9k

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

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2025-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-03-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-04-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-08-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-08-29
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2004-11-19
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2002-08-13
🏢
Company incorporated
As FORWARD STEPS NURSERY LTD.
2002-08-13
➕
BRASH, Elaine appointed
secretary
2002-08-13
➕
BRASH, Elaine appointed
director
2002-08-13
➕
KEENAN, Janice appointed
director
2002-08-13
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-08-13
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-08-13
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-08-13
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100

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 59. Early succession window.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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

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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Elaine Brash Individual · British · DOB 06/1972 · age 54	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	01/08/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Healthcare & medical · G postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
OPTICAL EXPRESS LIMITED→ SC161469 · est 1995	£80.82M £58.19M–£103.45M	—	—	54900	30y	85	58y
GP MATTERS LIMITED→ SC424457 · est 2012	£3.46M £2.49M–£4.43M	—	—	500	13y	85	61y
ASPIRE HOUSING & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ SC231773 · est 2002	—	—	£354.7k	—	23y	83	77y
BCERTA LTD.→ SC355831 · est 2009	—	—	—	—	17y	83	67y
COMMONWEALTH DENTAL PRACTICE LTD.→ SC381148 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	83	58y
DAVID LIVINGSTONE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ SC118899 · est 1989	—	—	£150.4k	—	36y	83	90y
DOON CARE LTD.→ SC262088 · est 2004	—	—	£1.46M	—	22y	83	87y
DUNDONALD HOUSE NURSING HOME LIMITED→ SC296431 · est 2006	—	—	—	—	20y	83	64y
MORNINGSIDE CAREHOMES (SCOTLAND) LTD.→ SC306303 · est 2006	—	—	—	7000	19y	83	75y
THE GALGAEL TRUST→ SC246912 · est 2003	—	—	£325.7k	—	23y	83	82y
WOODLAND PLAY LTD→ SC727278 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
WOODSIDE CAREHOMES LTD.→ SC306304 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-08-13

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC88910 — Child day-care activities

Registered office

59 Northgate Road

Glasgow

G21 3QT

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-05-31

Last made up to: 2024-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-22

Last: 2025-08-08

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

BRASH, Elaine→

secretary · appointed 2002-08-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRASH, Elaine→

director · ~54y · appointed 2002-08-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

KEENAN, Janice→

director · ~59y · appointed 2002-08-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-08-13 · resigned 2002-08-13

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-08-13 · resigned 2002-08-13

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 Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Bond & floating charge	1 property	19/11/2004	—

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