FIFTH GEAR LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC251673 · ltd · incorporated 2003-06-24
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£79.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of trucks and other heavy vehicles
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 18.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 18.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
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
73 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £79,930
Cash YoY
+393%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£31k
↑ 393% YoY
Net Worth
£80k
↑ 132% YoY
Current Assets
£331k
↑ 6.5% 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 | £420.4k | £25.2k |
| Current assets | £330.6k | £310.6k |
| Cash | £31.5k | £6.4k |
| Net assets | £79.9k | £-246.8k |
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
- 2026-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-24📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2020-10-20📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2020-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-03-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-21📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-25📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2016-02-25🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2013-10-01➖PARKER, Sarah resignedsecretary
- 2008-03-27🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2008-03-20🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2006-01-30➕PARKER, Sarah appointedsecretary
- 2006-01-30➖FERGUSON DEWAR LLP resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-03-18➕PARKER, Paul Martin appointeddirector
- 2004-03-18➕FERGUSON DEWAR LLP appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2003-07-22➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-07-22➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-06-24🏢Company incorporatedAs FIFTH GEAR LIMITED
- 2003-06-24➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-06-24➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Paul Martin Parker Individual · British · DOB 03/1978 · age 48 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 30/06/2016 |
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 · ML postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENERGY ALCHEMY PEOPLE LIMITED→ SC727728 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ENERGY SAVING TECHNOLOGY LTD.→ SC333621 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ESP MUSIC RENTALS LIMITED→ SC349446 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| EXCEED TECHNICAL LIMITED→ SC799672 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| EYONZY LTD→ SC616951 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| FAST FIXX MOBILITY SERVICES LTD.→ SC250720 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| FERRIS & SONS LIMITED→ SC541088 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| FFDESIGN (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC869113 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FIRST FOOT MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD→ SC411212 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| FIRST FOR BUSINESS LTD→ SC739192 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| FITNESS TAKEAWAY LIMITED→ SC393326 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| FIZ CONSULTING LTD→ SC879724 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-06-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC77120 — Renting and leasing of trucks and other heavy vehicles
Registered office
20b Blairhill Street
Coatbridge
Lanarkshire
ML5 1PG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-02
Last: 2026-02-16
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
PARKER, Paul Martin→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2004-03-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PARKER, Sarah→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-01-30 · resigned 2013-10-01
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-06-24 · resigned 2003-07-22
FERGUSON DEWAR LLP→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2004-03-18 · resigned 2006-01-30
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-06-24 · resigned 2003-07-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 27/03/2008 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 20/03/2008 | 25/02/2016 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (73 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-05-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-16
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2020-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-23
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2020-10-20