F M B (SCOTLAND) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC247249 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-04
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£100.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02400
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). 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 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £100,154
Cash YoY
+23%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£12k
↑ 23% YoY
Net Worth
£100k
↑ 269% YoY
Current Assets
£33k
↑ 205% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£59k-£27k£5k£36k£68k£100kAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£506.1k£237.8k
Current assets£33.3k£10.9k
Cash£12.2k£9.9k
Debtors£21.2k£1.1k
Net assets£100.2k£-59.2k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2021-03-08
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2021-02-26
    ➖
    HARKNESS, Rona Margaret resigned
    director
  9. 2021-02-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2021-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-05-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2020-05-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2020-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-11-30
    ➖
    HARKNESS, Liam John resigned
    director
  18. 2014-05-01
    ➕
    HARKNESS, Liam John appointed
    director
  19. 2014-04-05
    ➕
    HARKNESS, John appointed
    director
  20. 2003-04-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As F M B (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
  21. 2003-04-04
    ➕
    HARKNESS, John Derek appointed
    secretary
  22. 2003-04-04
    ➕
    HARKNESS, Rona Margaret appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-04-04
    ➖
    HARKNESS, Rona Margaret resigned
    secretary
  24. 2003-04-04
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-04-04
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-04-04
    ➕
    HARKNESS, John Derek appointed
    director
  27. 2003-04-04
    ➖
    HARKNESS, John Derek resigned
    director
  28. 2003-04-04
    ➕
    HARKNESS, Rona Margaret appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
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 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 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 John Derek Harkness
Individual · British · DOB 08/1959 · age 67
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/07/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Rona Margaret Harknessceased 26/02/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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

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GREEN SLATE GARDEN SERVICES LTD→
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GREENCUT TREE SPECIALISTS LIMITED→
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GREENHEART GROWERS C.I.C.→
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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
Incorporated2003-04-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC02400 — SIC 02400

Registered office

22 Backbrae Street
Kilsyth
Glasgow
G65 0NH
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-22
Last: 2026-03-08

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

HARKNESS, John Derek→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARKNESS, John→
director · ~67y · appointed 2014-04-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARKNESS, Rona Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-04 · resigned 2003-04-04
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-04 · resigned 2003-04-04
Resigned
HARKNESS, John Derek→
director · appointed 2003-04-04 · resigned 2003-04-04
Resigned
HARKNESS, Liam John→
director · ~38y · appointed 2014-05-01 · resigned 2015-11-30
Resigned
HARKNESS, Rona Margaret→
director · ~69y · appointed 2003-04-04 · resigned 2021-02-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (61 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-03-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-02-18