NOAH'S ARK DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYGROUP

🌳Matureactive
SC247699 · private-limited-guarant-nsc-limited-exemption · incorporated 2003-04-11
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Pre-primary education
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (63/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
30 officers (9 active, 30 linked, 21 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
105 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-31
Average employees900

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

4 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (69 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-31
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-01-16
    GIBSON, Kevin James appointed
    director
  4. 2024-11-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2024-11-06
    GIBSON, James resigned
    director
  6. 2024-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-12-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  10. 2022-11-16
    GORDON, Douglas William appointed
    director
  11. 2022-02-10
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  12. 2022-02-10
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  13. 2022-02-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-12-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2021-12-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2021-12-13
    DUFF, Lorraine resigned
    director
  17. 2021-12-13
    FOTHERINGHAM, Heather resigned
    director
  18. 2021-04-12
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2021-04-12
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2021-03-15
    ALLAN, Stuart appointed
    director
  21. 2021-03-15
    MCCARTNEY, Emma Louise appointed
    director
  22. 2021-01-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2019-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  24. 2018-11-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  25. 2017-10-23
    DOW, Alexander appointed
    secretary
  26. 2017-10-23
    DOW, Alexander appointed
    director
  27. 2017-10-23
    GIBSON, James resigned
    secretary
  28. 2017-08-28
    MURRAY, Douglas John, Dr resigned
    director
  29. 2010-09-30
    LOOPER, Pamela resigned
    director
  30. 2010-09-13
    PORTER, Angela Frances appointed
    director
  31. 2010-09-13
    EVANS, Siobhan Alexandra Louise resigned
    director
  32. 2010-09-13
    MORRIS, Jennifer Evelyn resigned
    director
  33. 2010-03-05
    COMBE, Sandy resigned
    director
  34. 2010-01-31
    GIBSON, James appointed
    secretary
  35. 2010-01-31
    PARNHAM, Audrey Margaret resigned
    secretary
  36. 2009-08-24
    COMBE, Sandy appointed
    director
  37. 2009-08-24
    CONTI, Susan Anne resigned
    director
  38. 2009-08-24
    GIBSON, James appointed
    director
  39. 2009-08-24
    PARNHAM, Audrey Margaret resigned
    director
  40. 2008-08-27
    CHAPMAN, David William resigned
    director
  41. 2007-06-20
    CHAPMAN, David William appointed
    director
  42. 2007-06-20
    EVANS, Siobhan Alexandra Louise appointed
    director
  43. 2007-03-14
    CONTI, Susan Anne resigned
    secretary
  44. 2007-03-14
    PARNHAM, Audrey Margaret appointed
    secretary
  45. 2006-08-22
    CONTI, Susan Anne appointed
    secretary
  46. 2006-08-22
    VAN ANKEREN, Pamela resigned
    secretary
  47. 2006-08-22
    CONTI, Susan Anne appointed
    director
  48. 2005-06-23
    MURRAY, Douglas John, Dr appointed
    director
  49. 2005-06-23
    NEELY, John David resigned
    director
  50. 2005-02-22
    CATTANACH, Moray George resigned
    secretary
Showing most recent 50 of 69 events

Owner dependency

65/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -8 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

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 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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.)
🔒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 →

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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
Typeprivate-limited-guarant-nsc-limited-exemption
Incorporated2003-04-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85100 — Pre-primary education

Registered office

Balnageith Road
Forres
Moray
IV36 2SX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-01
Last: 2025-04-17

Officers (9 active · 21 resigned)

DOW, Alexander
secretary · appointed 2017-10-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ALLAN, Stuart
director · ~42y · appointed 2021-03-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOW, Alexander
director · ~73y · appointed 2017-10-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GIBSON, Kevin James
director · ~48y · appointed 2025-01-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GORDON, Douglas William
director · ~73y · appointed 2022-11-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKAY, Angela
director · ~62y · appointed 2004-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCCARTNEY, Emma Louise
director · ~47y · appointed 2021-03-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURRAY, Janice
director · ~72y · appointed 2003-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PORTER, Angela Frances
director · ~48y · appointed 2010-09-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CATTANACH, Moray George
secretary · appointed 2003-06-20 · resigned 2005-02-22
Resigned
CONTI, Susan Anne
secretary · appointed 2006-08-22 · resigned 2007-03-14
Resigned
GIBSON, James
secretary · appointed 2010-01-31 · resigned 2017-10-23
Resigned
PARNHAM, Audrey Margaret
secretary · appointed 2007-03-14 · resigned 2010-01-31
Resigned
VAN ANKEREN, Pamela
secretary · appointed 2005-02-22 · resigned 2006-08-22
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-11 · resigned 2003-05-31
Resigned
CATTANACH, Moray George
director · ~60y · appointed 2003-06-20 · resigned 2005-02-22
Resigned
CHAPMAN, David William
director · ~50y · appointed 2007-06-20 · resigned 2008-08-27
Resigned
COMBE, Sandy
director · ~77y · appointed 2009-08-24 · resigned 2010-03-05
Resigned
CONTI, Susan Anne
director · ~63y · appointed 2006-08-22 · resigned 2009-08-24
Resigned
DUFF, Lorraine
director · ~71y · appointed 2004-07-01 · resigned 2021-12-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (105 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-27
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-01-31
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-14
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-11
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2022-02-10
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-07