J M WATSON LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC272178 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-19
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£788.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). 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 (68/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £788,850

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£789k
Current Assets
£805k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-31
Total assets£788.9k
Current assets£804.8k
Net assets£788.9k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 3 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-24
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AAMD
  2. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-12-09
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2025-07-04
    📍
    move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
    address · AD04
  5. 2025-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-02-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-05-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-12-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2019-12-04
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2019-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-12-06
    ➕
    WATSON, James appointed
    secretary
  18. 2015-12-06
    ➖
    WATSON, Patricia resigned
    secretary
  19. 2004-08-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As J M WATSON LIMITED
  20. 2004-08-19
    ➕
    WATSON, James appointed
    director
  21. 2004-08-19
    ➕
    WATSON, Patricia appointed
    secretary
  22. 2004-08-19
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2004-08-19
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2004-08-19
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2004-08-19
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "WATSON" — 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 78 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 78 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

1 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
James Watson
Individual · British · DOB 12/1948 · age 78
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2004-08-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

C/O Johnston Carmichael
15 Academy Street
Forfar
Angus
DD8 2HA
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-22
Last: 2025-08-08

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

WATSON, James→
secretary · appointed 2015-12-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATSON, James→
director · ~78y · appointed 2004-08-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATSON, Patricia→
secretary · appointed 2004-08-19 · resigned 2015-12-06
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-19 · resigned 2004-08-19
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-19 · resigned 2004-08-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (64 total)

accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2026-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-08
move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
address · AD04
2025-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-19