OBAN SKIP HIRE LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC271480 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-02
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
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 38210
Sector: Water supply & waste
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 21.4y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 21.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
64 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Average employees800900

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-07
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2022-11-30
    ➖
    MACLACHLAN, Susan Helen resigned
    director
  7. 2022-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-11-02
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  10. 2020-11-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  11. 2020-11-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2020-05-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-09-09
    📄
    capital-alter-shares-redemption-statement-of-capital
    capital · SH02
  14. 2019-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2012-12-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
  18. 2004-12-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  19. 2004-09-10
    ➕
    MACLACHLAN, Susan Helen appointed
    secretary
  20. 2004-09-10
    ➕
    MACLACHLAN, John appointed
    director
  21. 2004-09-10
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2004-09-10
    ➕
    MACLACHLAN, Susan Helen appointed
    director
  23. 2004-09-10
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2004-08-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As OBAN SKIP HIRE LTD.
  25. 2004-08-02
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2004-08-02
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

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 67 — 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 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.
  • 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.)

Group structure

John Maclachlan Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
John Maclachlan Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
OBAN SKIP HIRE LTD.
This company · SC271480

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
John Maclachlan Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares31/10/2019
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mrs Susan Helen Maclachlanceased 31/10/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence
  • Mr John Maclachlanceased 31/10/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence

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
Incorporated2004-08-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC38210 — SIC 38210

Registered office

C/O John Maclachlan Ltd
Torran Gorm Industrial Estate
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4PL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-16
Last: 2025-08-02

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

MACLACHLAN, Susan Helen→
secretary · appointed 2004-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACLACHLAN, John→
director · ~67y · appointed 2004-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-02 · resigned 2004-09-10
Resigned
MACLACHLAN, Susan Helen→
director · ~62y · appointed 2004-09-10 · resigned 2022-11-30
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-02 · resigned 2004-09-10
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
Bond & floating charge1 property21/12/2012—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property06/12/2004—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (64 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-31
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-24
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2020-11-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-11-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-11-02