HIGHLAND ARCHAEOLOGY SERVICES LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC262144 · ltd · incorporated 2004-01-20
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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, 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
9 officers (4 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees600600

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 (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-10-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-09-25
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2019-10-04
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  9. 2019-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-06-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2018-06-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2018-06-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  14. 2018-06-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2018-06-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  16. 2018-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-09-29
    ➕
    HIGGINS, Susan Anne appointed
    director
  18. 2017-08-11
    ➕
    MCKEGGIE, Lachlan appointed
    director
  19. 2017-08-11
    ➕
    MCKEGGIE, Lynne appointed
    director
  20. 2017-08-11
    ➖
    HIGGINS, Peter Bernard resigned
    director
  21. 2016-09-29
    ➕
    HIGGINS, Susan Anne appointed
    secretary
  22. 2016-03-31
    ➖
    QUICK, Estelle resigned
    secretary
  23. 2016-03-31
    ➕
    HIGGINS, Peter Bernard appointed
    director
  24. 2016-03-31
    ➖
    WOOD, Arthur John Richard resigned
    director
  25. 2004-01-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HIGHLAND ARCHAEOLOGY SERVICES LTD.
  26. 2004-01-20
    ➕
    QUICK, Estelle appointed
    secretary
  27. 2004-01-20
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2004-01-20
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 2004-01-20
    ➕
    WOOD, Arthur John Richard appointed
    director
  30. 2004-01-20
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  31. 2004-01-20
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Lachlan Iain Mckeggie
Individual · Scottish · DOB 03/1987 · age 39
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting20/08/2017
Mrs Lynne Marie Mckeggie
Individual · British · DOB 04/1987 · age 39
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting20/08/2017
Mrs Susan Anne Higgins
Individual · British · DOB 10/1961 · age 65
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting11/08/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Peter Bernard Higginsceased 20/08/2017· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · IV postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ENSOCENE LIMITED→
SC555265 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
EPC GRAMPIAN LTD.→
SC345145 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————17y——
FINDHORN INNOVATION RESEARCH & EDUCATION, CIC→
SC607337 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
FINSBAY HOLDINGS LIMITED→
SC803805 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
GASK CONTRACTORS LTD→
SC792922 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
GLOBAL HIGHLAND LIMITED→
SC497149 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————11y——
GMAC FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD→
SC595888 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
HARRIS HYDROGELS LIMITED→
SC643660 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
HIGHLAND AQUA TEAM LTD→
SC390606 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y——
HIGHLAND BIOSCIENCES LTD→
SC296459 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————20y——
HIGHLAND BUSINESS COACHING LTD→
SC460344 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————12y——
HIGHLAND CATERHAM HIRE LIMITED→
SC644109 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
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
Incorporated2004-01-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC72200 — Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities

Registered office

Burnfield, 7 Kinbeachie
Culbokie
Dingwall
Ross-Shire
IV7 8LS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-19
Last: 2025-06-05

Officers (4 active · 5 resigned)

HIGGINS, Susan Anne→
secretary · appointed 2016-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HIGGINS, Susan Anne→
director · ~65y · appointed 2017-09-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCKEGGIE, Lachlan→
director · ~39y · appointed 2017-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCKEGGIE, Lynne→
director · ~39y · appointed 2017-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
QUICK, Estelle→
secretary · appointed 2004-01-20 · resigned 2016-03-31
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-01-20 · resigned 2004-01-20
Resigned
HIGGINS, Peter Bernard→
director · ~71y · appointed 2016-03-31 · resigned 2017-08-11
Resigned
WOOD, Arthur John Richard→
director · ~75y · appointed 2004-01-20 · resigned 2016-03-31
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-01-20 · resigned 2004-01-20
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-05
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-09
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2019-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-05