HERON HOUSE KILLEARN LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC246908 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-31
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Pre-primary education
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 0.1y
10/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Newest facility, 0.1 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (69/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 |
|---|---|
| Average employees | 1200 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
2
filings
- • 1 mortgage
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 mortgage
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 mortgage
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-02📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2026-04-02🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Security Trustee Limited (As Security Trustee)
- 2025-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-05-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-05-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-04-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-03-31🏢Company incorporatedAs HERON HOUSE KILLEARN LTD.
- 2003-03-31➕HERON, Gary Francis appointedsecretary
- 2003-03-31➕HERON, Gabrielle Gleeson Charity appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "HERON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 23 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gary Francis Heron Individual · British · DOB 12/1962 · age 64 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Gabrielle Gleeson Charity Heron Individual · British · DOB 11/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Education & training · G postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE CHARITABLE TRUST→ SC172371 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| GLASGOW TRAINING ACADEMY LTD→ SC703747 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| GLOBAL TUITION HUB LIMITED→ SC836136 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| GO-DRIVE SCHOOL OF MOTORING LIMITED→ SC739573 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| GOVAN YOUTH INFORMATION PROJECT→ SC342646 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| GREENS FOOTBALL CLUB C.I.C.→ SC875717 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HAILS BAILS LTD→ SC863658 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HART GOLF LIMITED→ SC877617 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HAUS OF AURA LIMITED→ SC857880 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HEART FOR THE CITY→ SC256661 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| HEATHER REILLY PSYCHOLOGIST LTD→ SC839334 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HGFILMFESTIVAL LTD→ SC654418 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2003-03-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85100 — Pre-primary education
Registered office
Heron House Killearn Beech Drive
Killearn
Glasgow
G63 9SD
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-14
Last: 2026-03-31
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
HERON, Gary Francis→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HERON, Gabrielle Gleeson Charity→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2003-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Security Trustee Limited (As Security Trustee) | A registered charge | 1 property | 02/04/2026 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (56 total)
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-04-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-09