LISTERS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC244918 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-03
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£18.9k
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 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
62 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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £18,871
Net assets shrinking
Down £22,700 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£19k
↓ 55% YoY
Current Assets
£31k
↓ 55% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£14k£28k£41k£55k£69kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£19.2k£41.9k
Current assets£31.2k£69.1k
Net assets£18.9k£41.6k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-10-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2021-10-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-09-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-03-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-09-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-03-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2009-04-02
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, David George appointed
    secretary
  17. 2009-04-02
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, David George appointed
    director
  18. 2009-04-02
    ➖
    MCMILLAN, David resigned
    secretary
  19. 2009-04-02
    ➖
    MCMILLAN, David resigned
    director
  20. 2009-04-02
    ➖
    MCMILLAN, Marie resigned
    director
  21. 2003-03-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As LISTERS LIMITED
  22. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    MCMILLAN, David appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-03-03
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    MCMILLAN, David appointed
    director
  26. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    MCMILLAN, Marie appointed
    director
  27. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2003-03-03
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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 David George Sutherland
Individual · British · DOB 12/1955 · age 71
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting03/03/2017

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

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————6y——
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MORTGAGE NEST LTD→
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MOTOR FINANCE SCOTLAND LTD→
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————6y——
MPE (G.P. IV GENERAL PARTNER) LIMITED→
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————11y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2003-03-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

14 Turner Avenue
Balerno
EH14 7BS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-17
Last: 2026-03-03

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

SUTHERLAND, David George→
secretary · appointed 2009-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, David George→
director · ~71y · appointed 2009-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCMILLAN, David→
secretary · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2009-04-02
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2003-03-03
Resigned
MCMILLAN, David→
director · ~78y · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2009-04-02
Resigned
MCMILLAN, Marie→
director · ~77y · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2009-04-02
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2003-03-03
Resigned

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

Recent filings (62 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-26