MCLAREN TRACTORS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC257013 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-02
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46610
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 22.5y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 22.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 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£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees10001000

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
  1. 2025-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2023-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-09-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2022-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-11-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-05-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-10-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-08-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-10-28
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-05-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  17. 2003-10-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  18. 2003-10-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MCLAREN TRACTORS LIMITED
  19. 2003-10-02
    ➕
    MCLAREN, Fiona Mary appointed
    secretary
  20. 2003-10-02
    ➕
    MCLAREN, George appointed
    director
  21. 2003-10-02
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2003-10-02
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-10-02
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2003-10-02
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MCLAREN" — 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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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.
  • 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.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr George Mclaren
Individual · British · DOB 12/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting02/10/2016
Mrs Fiona Mary Mclaren
Individual · British · DOB 04/1963 · age 63
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting02/10/2016

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

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GLEANER LIMITED→
SC030017 · est 1954
£4.05M
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——19972y8862y
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——7009y8159y
FRANK NICOL FARM AND GARDEN MACHINERY LIMITED→
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——£326.0k—33y8287y
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———30041y8276y
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SC173566 · est 1997 · no financials extracted
————29y8297y
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——£86.3k—29y8263y
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——£2.42M—23y8067y
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SC225375 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
NORTH GREETINGS LTD→
SC519194 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
OPTIMUM UNDERFLOOR HEATING LIMITED→
SC312531 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y——
PILGRIM CARAVANS OUTDOORS LIMITED→
SC751221 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
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SC720677 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————4y——
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
Incorporated2003-10-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46610 — SIC 46610

Registered office

C/O Saffery Torridon House
Beechwood Park
Inverness
IV2 3BW
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-16
Last: 2025-10-02

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MCLAREN, Fiona Mary→
secretary · appointed 2003-10-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCLAREN, George→
director · ~58y · appointed 2003-10-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-10-02 · resigned 2003-10-02
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-10-02 · resigned 2003-10-02
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property09/05/2013—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property23/10/2003—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (64 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-04