IAN BROWN ENGINEERING LTD.
🌳Matureactive
SC250374 · ltd · incorporated 2003-06-02
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£48.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -43% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £48,197
Net assets shrinking
Down £42,976 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 43% YoY
Cash YoY
-43%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£35k
↓ 43% YoY
Net Worth
£48k
↓ 47% YoY
Current Assets
£36k
↓ 43% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £48.2k | £91.2k |
| Current assets | £35.6k | £62.5k |
| Cash | £34.6k | £61.1k |
| Debtors | — | £399 |
| Net assets | £48.2k | £91.2k |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-08📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-11-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2014-06-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2003-06-02🏢Company incorporatedAs IAN BROWN ENGINEERING LTD.
- 2003-06-02➕BROWN, Alyson Jane appointedsecretary
- 2003-06-02➕BROWN, Alyson Jane appointeddirector
- 2003-06-02➕BROWN, Ian Smith appointeddirector
- 2003-06-02➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-06-02➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-06-02➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-06-02➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BROWN" — 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
86/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Ian Smith Brown Individual · Scottish · DOB 01/1960 · age 66 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 02/06/2017 |
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 · Manufacturing · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS RENEWABLES LTD→ SC877464 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HUN SOLO LTD→ SC775789 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| HVAC & REFRIGERATION ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC199288 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| HYDROBOND ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC080870 · est 1982 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 43y | — | — |
| I.S.S. (ABERDEEN) LIMITED→ SC268422 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| INNOVO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC434959 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| INTERNATIONAL TUBULAR SERVICES LIMITED→ SC111913 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 37y | — | — |
| INTEROCEAN MARINE SERVICES LIMITED→ SC330887 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| IPT GLOBAL UK LIMITED→ SC843866 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ISOL8 LIMITED→ SC565933 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ITGS POWDER COATING LTD→ SC868494 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ITHACA MINERALS (NORTH SEA) LIMITED→ SC274666 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-06-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990
Registered office
Craigbeg
Durris
Banchory
Aberdeenshire
AB31 6DB
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-16
Last: 2025-06-02
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
BROWN, Alyson Jane→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BROWN, Alyson Jane→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2003-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BROWN, Ian Smith→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-06-02 · resigned 2003-06-02
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-06-02 · resigned 2003-06-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-25