FIRST PHOTOGRAPHICS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC256005 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-16
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
£438.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other photographic activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 2 with DOB)
76
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
66 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £438,353
Cash YoY
+18%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£396k
↑ 18% YoY
Net Worth
£438k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£88k£175k£263k£351k£438kOct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Cash£395.5k£335.1k
Net assets£438.4k£380.2k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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 (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-18
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  4. 2024-09-18
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  5. 2024-09-12
    ➕
    SMALL, Gary appointed
    secretary
  6. 2024-09-12
    ➖
    MICHIE, Lorna resigned
    secretary
  7. 2024-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-04-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-08-01
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2022-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-02-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2020-02-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2020-02-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2019-04-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2015-10-01
    ➕
    MICHIE, Lorna appointed
    secretary
  20. 2015-10-01
    ➖
    SMALL, Gary resigned
    secretary
  21. 2011-04-11
    ➖
    SMALL, Rebecca Jayne resigned
    director
  22. 2003-09-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FIRST PHOTOGRAPHICS LIMITED
  23. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    SMALL, Gary appointed
    director
  24. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    SMALL, Gary appointed
    secretary
  25. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-09-16
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    SMALL, Rebecca Jayne appointed
    director
  28. 2003-09-16
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 2003-09-16
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Gary Small
Individual · British · DOB 02/1970 · age 56
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016
Rebecca Jayne Small
Individual · British · DOB 05/1973 · age 53
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2003-09-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74209 — Other photographic activities

Registered office

First Photographics 21 Wyness Grove
Kintore
Inverurie
Aberdeenshire
AB51 0TA
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

SMALL, Gary→
secretary · appointed 2024-09-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMALL, Gary→
director · ~56y · appointed 2003-09-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MICHIE, Lorna→
secretary · appointed 2015-10-01 · resigned 2024-09-12
Resigned
SMALL, Gary→
secretary · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2015-10-01
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2003-09-16
Resigned
SMALL, Rebecca Jayne→
director · ~53y · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2011-04-11
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-09-16 · resigned 2003-09-16
Resigned

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

Recent filings (66 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-18
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-09-18
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-09-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-09