STRAAN CAPITAL LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC269899 · ltd · incorporated 2004-06-25
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
£331.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Sound recording and music publishing activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62090Other information technology service activities
  • 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 19.5y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
77 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £331,937
Net assets shrinking
Down £10,601 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£332k
↓ 3.1% YoY
Current Assets
£211
↓ 85% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£69k£137k£206k£274k£343kSept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Total assets£331.9k£363.5k
Current assets£211£1.4k
Net assets£331.9k£342.5k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-11-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2022-11-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2022-11-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-04-06
    ➖
    MCSHERRY, Jamie Douglas resigned
    director
  8. 2022-04-06
    ➖
    MCSHERRY, Scott Robert resigned
    director
  9. 2021-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-04-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2020-11-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2020-10-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-04-10
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2018-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-04-03
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  17. 2018-03-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2018-03-08
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2018-03-01
    ➕
    MCSHERRY, Jamie Douglas appointed
    director
  20. 2018-03-01
    ➕
    MCSHERRY, Scott Robert appointed
    director
  21. 2017-09-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  22. 2017-06-01
    ➖
    ROBERTSON, Lesley resigned
    secretary
  23. 2017-04-01
    ➖
    MCLAUGHLIN, Thomas resigned
    director
  24. 2017-04-01
    ➖
    STEWART, Hugh resigned
    director
  25. 2010-10-14
    ➖
    MCLAUGHLIN, Thomas resigned
    secretary
  26. 2010-10-14
    ➕
    ROBERTSON, Lesley appointed
    secretary
  27. 2010-10-14
    ➕
    MCLAUGHLIN, Thomas appointed
    director
  28. 2010-10-14
    ➕
    STEWART, Hugh appointed
    director
  29. 2006-11-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  30. 2006-10-03
    ➖
    GOLDIE, Allan Alexander resigned
    secretary
  31. 2006-10-03
    ➕
    MCLAUGHLIN, Thomas appointed
    secretary
  32. 2004-06-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As STRAAN CAPITAL LIMITED
  33. 2004-06-25
    ➕
    MCSHERRY, Charles appointed
    director
  34. 2004-06-25
    ➕
    GOLDIE, Allan Alexander appointed
    secretary
  35. 2004-06-25
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  36. 2004-06-25
    ➖
    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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — 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 68. 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Charles Mcsherry
Individual · British · DOB 11/1958 · age 68
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Hugh Stewartceased 01/04/2017· 25-50% shares

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

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
Incorporated2004-06-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC59200 — Sound recording and music publishing activities

Registered office

Straan Studios
The Kennels
Balquhidder
Stirling
FK19 8PB
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-06
Last: 2026-01-23

Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)

MCSHERRY, Charles→
director · ~68y · appointed 2004-06-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GOLDIE, Allan Alexander→
secretary · appointed 2004-06-25 · resigned 2006-10-03
Resigned
MCLAUGHLIN, Thomas→
secretary · appointed 2006-10-03 · resigned 2010-10-14
Resigned
ROBERTSON, Lesley→
secretary · appointed 2010-10-14 · resigned 2017-06-01
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-06-25 · resigned 2004-06-25
Resigned
MCLAUGHLIN, Thomas→
director · ~57y · appointed 2010-10-14 · resigned 2017-04-01
Resigned
MCSHERRY, Jamie Douglas→
director · ~33y · appointed 2018-03-01 · resigned 2022-04-06
Resigned
MCSHERRY, Scott Robert→
director · ~31y · appointed 2018-03-01 · resigned 2022-04-06
Resigned
STEWART, Hugh→
director · ~69y · appointed 2010-10-14 · resigned 2017-04-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property07/11/200611/09/2017

Recent filings (77 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-11-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-04-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-11-17