S THORBURN LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC260947 · ltd · incorporated 2003-12-16
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£153.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01420
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 01450SIC 01450
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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 (73/100).

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, 2 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £153,619
Net assets shrinking
Down £18,550 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£154k
↓ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£148k
↓ 14% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£35k£69k£104k£138k£173kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£156.2k£174.7k
Current assets£148.0k£172.5k
Net assets£153.6k£172.2k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2024-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-04-25
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  5. 2023-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2022-10-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2022-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-01-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-01-28
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2003-12-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As S THORBURN LIMITED
  17. 2003-12-16
    ➕
    CAMPBELL, STEWART, MACLENNAN & CO. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  18. 2003-12-16
    ➕
    THORBURN, Samuel appointed
    director
  19. 2003-12-16
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2003-12-16
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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 "THORBURN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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 22 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Samuel Thorburn
Individual · Scottish · DOB 02/1959 · age 67
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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

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SMALLBURN FARMS LIMITED→
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————39y——
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SC553111 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
SMM FISHING LTD→
SC609929 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
SPEY FISHING TRUST LIMITED→
SC047641 · est 1970 · no financials extracted
————55y——
SPINDRIFT (SKYE) LIMITED→
SC289392 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
SPYNIE FARMERS LIMITED→
SC113051 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
————37y——
STRATHNAIRN COMMUNITY WOODLANDS→
SC228026 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
————24y——
SUTHERLAND COMMUNITY SEAWEED CIC→
SC870173 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
TARTAN TIMBER HARVESTING LTD→
SC849444 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
THE KYLESKU CROFTERS TRUST LIMITED→
SC212413 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
————25y——
THE LINKS HOUSE (OYKEL FISHINGS) LIMITED→
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————10y——
THE OYSTER RESTORATION COMPANY LIMITED→
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————4y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2003-12-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01420 — SIC 01420

Registered office

C/O Campbell Stewart Maclennan & Co
Unit 3, Broom Place
Portree
IV51 9HL
Scotland

Filing status

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

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

CAMPBELL, STEWART, MACLENNAN & CO.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2003-12-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THORBURN, Samuel→
director · ~67y · appointed 2003-12-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-12-16 · resigned 2003-12-16
Resigned

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

Recent filings (52 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-10
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2024-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-15