CUMMING & CO. (ABERDEEN) LTD.

🌳Matureactive

SC248131 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-22

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 Apr 2025

Net worth

£352.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

83/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Architectural activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -55% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 22.8y

45/100

under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

· Oldest live charge is 22.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

10 officers (3 active, 10 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

75 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

83/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £352,110

Cash draining

Cash down 55% YoY

Cash YoY

-55%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£112k

↓ 55% YoY

Net Worth

£352k

↑ 12% YoY

Current Assets

£452k

↑ 24% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-04-30	2024-04-30
Total assets	£353.3k	£315.1k
Current assets	£452.0k	£363.2k
Cash	£111.7k	£248.8k
Debtors	£340.3k	£114.4k
Net assets	£352.1k	£313.2k

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand

2025-12-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-08-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-01-22
➖
STRACHAN, Gary Robert resigned
director
2018-01-22
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-08-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-03
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-05-03
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2016-01-19
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2015-12-04
➖
CUMMING, Allan William resigned
director
2015-05-25
➖
MACDONALD, David Archibald resigned
director
2015-05-01
➕
FORSYTH, Nicola appointed
director
2013-05-13
➕
TAYLOR, Mark appointed
secretary
2013-05-13
➖
CUMMING, Allan William resigned
secretary
2008-04-22
➕
CUMMING, Allan William appointed
secretary
2008-04-22
➖
THE GRANT SMITH LAW PRACTICE resigned
corporate-secretary
2007-05-01
➕
STRACHAN, Gary Robert appointed
director
2005-06-22
➕
TAYLOR, Mark appointed
director
2005-06-22
➕
MACDONALD, David Archibald appointed
director
2003-06-25
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2003-04-22
🏢
Company incorporated
As CUMMING & CO. (ABERDEEN) LTD.
2003-04-22
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-04-22
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-04-22
➕
THE GRANT SMITH LAW PRACTICE appointed
corporate-secretary
2003-04-22
➕
CUMMING, Allan William appointed
director
2003-04-22
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2003-04-22
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100

High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS

+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.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
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

clean

No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Cumming And Co (Cove) Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Cumming And Co (Cove) Ltd

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

CUMMING & CO. (ABERDEEN) LTD.

This company · SC248131

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Cumming And Co (Cove) Ltd Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	22/04/2016

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

Active · Professional services · AB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DA CAPITAL HOLDINGS LTD→ SC511125 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
DANICS ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC566845 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
DANIEL MP LTD→ SC432421 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
DANIEL SUTHERLAND DESIGN STUDIO LTD→ SC363261 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
DARWIN STRATEGIC SEARCH LIMITED→ SC884143 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
DASBO LIMITED→ SC347934 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
DAVE MARPLES CONSULTING LTD→ SC676623 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
DAVEDUNCANROVLTD LIMITED→ SC662324 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
DAVID PATTISON ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC398667 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
DAVID SMITH (PLANT HIRE) LTD.→ SC231295 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
DAVID STEPHEN CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC785711 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
DAVID W FYFE LIMITED→ SC298514 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—

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

Incorporated2003-04-22

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities

Registered office

6 Castlehill

Aberdeen

AB11 5GJ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-06

Last: 2026-04-22

Officers (3 active · 7 resigned)

TAYLOR, Mark→

secretary · appointed 2013-05-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FORSYTH, Nicola→

director · ~41y · appointed 2015-05-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

TAYLOR, Mark→

director · ~58y · appointed 2005-06-22

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CUMMING, Allan William→

secretary · appointed 2008-04-22 · resigned 2013-05-13

Resigned

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-22 · resigned 2003-04-22

Resigned

THE GRANT SMITH LAW PRACTICE→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2003-04-22 · resigned 2008-04-22

Resigned

CUMMING, Allan William→

director · ~74y · appointed 2003-04-22 · resigned 2015-12-04

Resigned

MACDONALD, David Archibald→

director · ~74y · appointed 2005-06-22 · resigned 2015-05-25

Resigned

STRACHAN, Gary Robert→

director · ~50y · appointed 2007-05-01 · resigned 2018-01-22

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-04-22 · resigned 2003-04-22

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Bond & floating charge	1 property	25/06/2003	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.