AW ESTATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC259737 · ltd · incorporated 2003-11-25
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 22.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 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 22.1y

50/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 22.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (59/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
63 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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  2. 2025-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-05-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2022-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-06-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-12-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-06-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-12-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2010-06-25
    ➖
    MCGUINNESS, Neil Stephen resigned
    secretary
  17. 2009-09-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  18. 2004-04-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  19. 2003-11-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AW ESTATES LIMITED
  20. 2003-11-25
    ➕
    MILLAR, Annie Crawford appointed
    director
  21. 2003-11-25
    ➕
    WOTHERSPOON, Robert John appointed
    director
  22. 2003-11-25
    ➕
    MCGUINNESS, Neil Stephen appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-11-25
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-11-25
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. 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

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
Mr Robert John Wotherspoon
Individual · British · DOB 05/1958 · age 68
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016

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 · Other · EH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
TARTAN GOLF INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→
SC086571 · est 1984
£965.1k
£643.4k–£1.29M
——1942y8366y
CONFEDERATION OF FOREST INDUSTRIES (UK) LIMITED→
SC034467 · est 1959
£786.2k
£524.1k–£1.05M
———66y8272y
ESSENTIAL EDINBURGH→
SC343592 · est 2008
£82.2k
£54.8k–£109.6k
——70017y8468y
COGENT SSC LIMITED→
SC129351 · est 1991 · no financials extracted
————35y8359y
NEVIS PROPERTY COMPANY LIMITED→
SC020708 · est 1938 · no financials extracted
————87y8390y
NEWLANDS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST→
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————18y8368y
NORDAN SCANDIC (SCOTLAND) LTD→
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——£2—30y8365y
OUTDOOR INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION CIC→
SC366266 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————16y8366y
SALMON SCOTLAND LTD→
SC152347 · est 1994
——£188.2k—31y8366y
SCOTPAC INTERNATIONAL (U.K.) LIMITED→
SC047003 · est 1969
————56y8360y
SMTA (TRADING PARTNERS) LIMITED→
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———018y8376y
BOARDWISE (GLASGOW) LIMITED→
SC139326 · est 1992
————33y8265y
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
Incorporated2003-11-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

1 Hill Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3JP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-09
Last: 2025-11-25

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MILLAR, Annie Crawford→
director · ~41y · appointed 2003-11-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WOTHERSPOON, Robert John→
director · ~68y · appointed 2003-11-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCGUINNESS, Neil Stephen→
secretary · appointed 2003-11-25 · resigned 2010-06-25
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-11-25 · resigned 2003-11-25
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
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property28/09/2009—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Legal charge1 property16/04/2004—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (63 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-18