ORMLIE GARAGE LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC268380 · ltd · incorporated 2004-05-25

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 May 2025

Net worth

£105.5k

book net assets

Opportunity

75/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

50 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

75/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £105,493

Cash YoY

+38%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£30k

↑ 38% YoY

Net Worth

£105k

↑ 16% YoY

Current Assets

£204k

↑ 24% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-05-31	2024-05-31
Total assets	£141.1k	£138.1k
Current assets	£203.8k	£164.4k
Cash	£29.6k	£21.5k
Debtors	£165.8k	£135.8k
Net assets	£105.5k	£90.7k

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2026-02-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-01
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2004-05-25
🏢
Company incorporated
As ORMLIE GARAGE LTD
2004-05-25
➕
SMITH, Marlyn Helen appointed
secretary
2004-05-25
➕
SMITH, John Robert appointed
director
2004-05-25
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-05-25
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary

Owner dependency

85/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Marlyn Helen Smith Individual · British · DOB 08/1968 · age 58	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016
Mr John Robert Smith Individual · British · DOB 06/1976 · age 50	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · KW postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
MLM AGRI SERVICES LIMITED→ SC316807 · est 2007	£630.8k £504.7k–£757.0k	—	—	11	19y	75	59y
BRIAN WILSON (ORKNEY) LIMITED→ SC339083 · est 2008	—	—	£1.25M	—	18y	82	59y
ISBISTER BROS. LIMITED→ SC154863 · est 1994	—	—	£1.12M	—	31y	82	74y
ORKNEY FACTORS LIMITED→ SC048648 · est 1971	—	—	£1.36M	—	55y	82	59y
ESSONS GARAGE LIMITED→ SC239065 · est 2002	—	—	£907.4k	—	23y	81	60y
SCAPA GARAGE LIMITED→ SC240230 · est 2002	—	—	£67.3k	—	23y	80	66y
WILLIAM DUNNET & COMPANY LIMITED→ SC032246 · est 1957	—	—	—	18	69y	80	64y
RICHARD'S GARAGE LIMITED→ SC074431 · est 1981	—	—	—	700	45y	78	76y
AUTOPARTS STORNOWAY LIMITED→ SC216848 · est 2001	—	—	£940.2k	—	25y	77	51y
MEIKLEJOHNS MOT CENTRE LIMITED→ SC590150 · est 2018	—	—	£10	—	8y	76	64y
AUTOPARTS OF THURSO→ SC509909 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	75	57y
HILLHEAD GARAGE LTD→ SC850712 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	75	68y

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

Incorporated2004-05-25

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

7d Ormile Industrial Estate

Thurso

Caithness

KW14 8GS

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-06-13

Last: 2026-05-30

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

SMITH, Marlyn Helen→

secretary · appointed 2004-05-25

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SMITH, John Robert→

director · ~50y · appointed 2004-05-25

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-05-25 · resigned 2004-05-25

Resigned

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