F.M.S.E. MACFARLANE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC253335 · ltd · incorporated 2003-07-28
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 19.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other human health activities
Sector: Human health & social work
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 80). 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: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 19.7y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
69 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Average employees900900

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 (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-06-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-08-17
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2018-08-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2018-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-07-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2017-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-10-20
    ➖
    MACFARLANE, Fergus resigned
    director
  14. 2016-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-08-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2009-11-26
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Sheila appointed
    secretary
  18. 2009-11-26
    ➖
    MACFARLANE, Fergus resigned
    secretary
  19. 2006-07-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2005-06-30
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Sheila appointed
    director
  21. 2003-09-01
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Eileen appointed
    director
  22. 2003-09-01
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Margaret appointed
    director
  23. 2003-09-01
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Fergus appointed
    secretary
  24. 2003-09-01
    ➕
    MACFARLANE, Fergus appointed
    director
  25. 2003-07-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As F.M.S.E. MACFARLANE LIMITED
  26. 2003-07-28
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2003-07-28
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2003-07-28
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 2003-07-28
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

98/100
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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MACFARLANE" — 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 80 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
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 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Margaret Macfarlane
Individual · Scottish · DOB 01/1946 · age 80
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Fergus Macfarlaneceased 20/10/2016· 25-50% shares

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 →

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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
Typeltd
Incorporated2003-07-28
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC86900 — Other human health activities

Registered office

154-156 Arbroath Road
Dundee
DD4 7PY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-07
Last: 2025-08-24

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

MACFARLANE, Sheila→
secretary · appointed 2009-11-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACFARLANE, Eileen→
director · ~52y · appointed 2003-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACFARLANE, Margaret→
director · ~80y · appointed 2003-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACFARLANE, Sheila→
director · ~49y · appointed 2005-06-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACFARLANE, Fergus→
secretary · appointed 2003-09-01 · resigned 2009-11-26
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-07-28 · resigned 2003-07-28
Resigned
MACFARLANE, Fergus→
director · ~83y · appointed 2003-09-01 · resigned 2016-10-20
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-07-28 · resigned 2003-07-28
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property31/07/2006—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (69 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-08-24