SCOTLAND'S BEST KEPT SECRET LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC269644 · ltd · incorporated 2004-06-22
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Event catering activities
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, 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 (77/100)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
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 2 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2026-01-23➕MITCHELL, James appointeddirector
- 2026-01-23➖MITCHELL, James resigneddirector
- 2026-01-23📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2026-01-23📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-19📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2016-01-01➕JOHNSTONE, Eileen appointedsecretary
- 2016-01-01➖BORTHWICK, Tracie resignedsecretary
- 2006-02-15➕BORTHWICK, Tracie appointedsecretary
- 2005-10-27➖JOHNSTONE, Eileen resignedsecretary
- 2005-08-31➕JOHNSTONE, Eileen appointedsecretary
- 2005-08-31➖MITCHELL, James resignedsecretary
- 2004-06-24➕MITCHELL, James appointedsecretary
- 2004-06-24➕MITCHELL, James appointeddirector
- 2004-06-22🏢Company incorporatedAs SCOTLAND'S BEST KEPT SECRET LTD.
- 2004-06-22➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-06-22➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-06-22➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2004-06-22➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
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.
Red flags
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Mitchell Individual · British · DOB 09/1959 · age 67 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 23/02/2017 |
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 · Hospitality · KY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIFE INNS (CUPAR) LIMITED→ SC118700 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| HANCOCK HOSPITALITY LTD→ SC865657 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HAWKSWOOD RESORT DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→ SC656585 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| J LI GLASGOW LTD→ SC777801 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| KASDUN LIMITED→ SC698888 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| KINNETTLES CASTLE LIMITED→ SC541159 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| KML FOODS LIMITED→ SC866679 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| KSSK RETAIL LTD→ SC867591 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| KUPPO (YM) LIMITED→ SC828286 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| LEE COTTAGE FOOD LTD→ SC882333 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LITTLE FRIAR LTD→ SC842864 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| LKG FOOD LTD→ SC861194 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-06-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56210 — Event catering activities
Registered office
Crown Buildings
Troywood
Nr St Andrews
Fife
KY16 8QH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-06
Last: 2026-01-23
Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)
Active
MITCHELL, James→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2026-01-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BORTHWICK, Tracie→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-02-15 · resigned 2016-01-01
JOHNSTONE, Eileen→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-08-31 · resigned 2005-10-27
MITCHELL, James→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-06-24 · resigned 2005-08-31
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-06-22 · resigned 2004-06-22
MITCHELL, James→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2004-06-24 · resigned 2026-01-23
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-06-22 · resigned 2004-06-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (56 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-29
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-01-23
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-23