S.A. BORTHWICK LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC263479 · ltd · incorporated 2004-02-13
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
£1.09M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Sector: Construction
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. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
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
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
54 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 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,088,933
Cash YoY
+17%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£949k
↑ 17% YoY
Net Worth
£1.1m
↑ 13% YoY
Current Assets
£1.3m
↑ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£259k£517k£776k£1.0m£1.3mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£1.12M£999.7k
Current assets£1.29M£1.12M
Cash£949.2k£813.4k
Debtors£321.8k£287.9k
Net assets£1.09M£966.0k

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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-20
    ➖
    BORTHWICK, Gillian Francis resigned
    secretary
  5. 2023-06-20
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  6. 2022-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-02-08
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  8. 2022-02-07
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  9. 2021-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-04-01
    ➕
    BORTHWICK, Ryan appointed
    director
  18. 2004-02-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As S.A. BORTHWICK LIMITED
  19. 2004-02-13
    ➕
    BORTHWICK, Stephen Andrew appointed
    director
  20. 2004-02-13
    ➕
    BORTHWICK, Gillian Francis appointed
    secretary
  21. 2004-02-13
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2004-02-13
    ➖
    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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BORTHWICK" — 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.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

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 67. 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 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 Stephen Andrew Borthwick
Individual · British · DOB 11/1959 · age 67
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 →

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2004-02-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43220 — Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation

Registered office

Tigh Mor
Ardbroilach Road
Kingussie
Inverness Shire
PH21 1LD

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-04
Last: 2025-06-20

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

BORTHWICK, Ryan→
director · ~34y · appointed 2015-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BORTHWICK, Stephen Andrew→
director · ~67y · appointed 2004-02-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BORTHWICK, Gillian Francis→
secretary · appointed 2004-02-13 · resigned 2023-06-20
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-02-13 · resigned 2004-02-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-22
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-06-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-26
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-02-08
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-18