R.D. MCFARLANE AND NICOLS LTD.
🌳Matureactive
SC245770 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-17
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other human health activities
Sector: Human health & social work
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (65/100).
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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
78 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 14 | 1400 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-23➖RICHMOND, Douglas resigneddirector
- 2025-12-23📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-24📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-03-24📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2025-03-24📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2025-03-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-03-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-02-25📄capital-cancellation-sharescapital · SH06
- 2025-02-11📄capital-return-purchase-own-sharescapital · SH03
- 2024-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-04➖STEIN, Elaine Baird resignedsecretary
- 2024-11-04➖STEIN, Colin Alexander resigneddirector
- 2024-11-04➖STEIN, Elaine Baird resigneddirector
- 2024-03-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-10-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-26📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC08
- 2013-04-01➕RICHMOND, Douglas appointeddirector
- 2007-07-27➕MCCALL, Iain David appointeddirector
- 2005-04-06➕SPRUCE, Richard Paul appointeddirector
- 2005-01-14➕STEIN, Elaine Baird appointeddirector
- 2003-03-17🏢Company incorporatedAs R.D. MCFARLANE AND NICOLS LTD.
- 2003-03-17➕STEIN, Elaine Baird appointedsecretary
- 2003-03-17➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-03-17➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-03-17➕STEIN, Colin Alexander appointeddirector
- 2003-03-17➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-03-17➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
68/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
66/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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
cleanNo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Richard Paul Spruce Individual · British · DOB 04/1981 · age 45 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 04/11/2024 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Colin Alexander Steinceased 02/03/2020· 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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JGW MEDICAL LTD→ SC733446 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| KALMED CLINIC LTD→ SC550180 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| NACOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES LTD→ SC573555 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| NICOLE RANKINE LTD→ SC811489 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| NSJ BOOKS AND WORK LIMITED→ SC727118 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PNY DENTAL SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC791519 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| POTTERS HEALTH CARE LIMITED→ SC503963 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| PREMO GROUP LTD→ SC638302 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| PSYCHOTHERAPY SCOTLAND LTD→ SC824247 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| RA MEDIC LTD→ SC652609 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| REAL GOOD COLLECTIVE LTD→ SC821003 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-03-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC86900 — Other human health activities
Registered office
1 Brodie Avenue
Alloa
FK10 2FE
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last: 2026-03-17
Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)
MCCALL, Iain David→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2007-07-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SPRUCE, Richard Paul→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2005-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
STEIN, Elaine Baird→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-03-17 · resigned 2024-11-04
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-17 · resigned 2003-03-17
RICHMOND, Douglas→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2013-04-01 · resigned 2025-12-23
STEIN, Colin Alexander→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2003-03-17 · resigned 2024-11-04
STEIN, Elaine Baird→
Resigneddirector · ~72y · appointed 2005-01-14 · resigned 2024-11-04
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-03-17 · resigned 2003-03-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (78 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-24
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-03-24
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2025-03-24
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-03-24
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-03-24
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-03-24
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2025-02-25
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2025-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-24