GILLIES & MACKAY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC237291 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-24

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 Sept 2024

Net worth

£89.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -47% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 13.0y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 13.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

9 officers (6 active, 9 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

84 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £89,886

Cash draining

Cash down 47% YoY

Cash YoY

-47%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£141k

↓ 47% YoY

Net Worth

£90k

↑ 1.7% YoY

Current Assets

£224k

↓ 36% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Total assets	£174.7k	£229.1k
Current assets	£223.5k	£348.2k
Cash	£141.0k	£268.0k
Debtors	£37.5k	£35.2k
Net assets	£89.9k	£88.4k

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 (33 events)Click to expand

2025-05-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-09
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-10-27
➕
RYAN, Catherine appointed
secretary
2022-09-09
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2022-09-09
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-09-09
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-08-10
📄
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2022-08-08
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-08-05
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2022-08-05
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-07-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-16
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2022-06-16
📄
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2022-06-02
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-06-02
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-04-12
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-07
➕
SINCLAIR, Gordon appointed
director
2021-07-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-21
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2016-04-04
➕
MACKAY, Cara-Anne Brodie appointed
director
2013-05-22
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2004-08-13
➕
MACKAY, Cara-Anne Brodie appointed
secretary
2004-08-13
➖
MACKAY, Caroline Patricia resigned
secretary
2002-09-24
🏢
Company incorporated
As GILLIES & MACKAY LIMITED
2002-09-24
➕
GILLIES, Alastair Grant appointed
director
2002-09-24
➕
MACKAY, John Neil appointed
director
2002-09-24
➕
MACKAY, Caroline Patricia appointed
secretary
2002-09-24
➕
FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-09-24
➖
FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-09-24
➕
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-09-24
➖
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

88/100

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

-4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GILLIES" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100

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.
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.)

Group structure

Natty Shed Life Limited holds majority control (50-75%). Likely parent but not wholly-owned.

🏛️

Natty Shed Life Limited

Corporate parent · holds 50-75% shares · board control

majority

⬇

GILLIES & MACKAY LIMITED

This company · SC237291

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Natty Shed Life Limited Corporate entity	50–75%	50–75%	board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control	17/05/2022

2 historic (ceased) PSCs

Mr John Neil Mackayceased 17/05/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
Mr Grant Gilliesceased 17/05/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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 · Construction · PH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
BEAR SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC206139 · est 2000	£13.00M £9.29M–£16.72M	—	—	—	26y	83	65y
G.S. BROWN CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC047574 · est 1970	£3.14M £2.24M–£4.03M	—	—	46	55y	84	83y
A. PROCTOR GROUP LIMITED→ SC105054 · est 1987	£1.97M £1.40M–£2.53M	—	—	102	38y	87	60y
BALHOUSIE GLAZING LIMITED→ SC148115 · est 1993	—	—	£216.9k	—	32y	83	70y
ALGO (BLAIRGOWRIE) LIMITED→ SC166057 · est 1996	—	—	£5.05M	—	29y	82	85y
CALEDONIAN DEVELOPMENTS LTD.→ SC211941 · est 2000	—	—	—	200	25y	82	64y
CIOCH LIMITED→ SC169567 · est 1996	—	—	£62.8k	—	29y	82	76y
GRM INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC346383 · est 2008	—	—	£31.7k	—	17y	82	65y
J. F. HALLEY & SON LIMITED→ SC282324 · est 2005	—	—	—	4	21y	82	66y
JAMES MOFFAT CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC333711 · est 2007	—	—	£127.4k	—	18y	82	61y
STEWART ELECTRICAL SERVICES LTD→ SC835850 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
SUTHERS STONEMASONRY LIMITED→ SC799950 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-09-24

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Gillies And Mackay Ltd East Inchmichael

Station Road

Errol

Perthshire

PH2 7SP

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-06-30

Last made up to: 2024-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-08

Last: 2025-09-24