CARDEAN COURIERS LTD

🌳Matureactive
SC272470 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-26
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 4.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
£268.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Unlicenced Carrier
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 4.1y

75/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Charge age ~4.1 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
54 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 £268,604
Net assets shrinking
Down £121,483 YoY
Cash YoY
+28%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£145k
↑ 28% YoY
Net Worth
£269k
↓ 31% YoY
Current Assets
£694k
↓ 2.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£143k£286k£429k£572k£715kAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£686.2k£473.9k
Current assets£693.8k£714.7k
Cash£145.3k£113.4k
Debtors£548.5k£601.2k
Net assets£268.6k£390.1k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-21
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  6. 2022-04-19
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  7. 2022-04-19
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2022-04-19
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2022-04-19
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  10. 2022-04-19
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2022-04-08
    ➕
    MEECHAN, Cara appointed
    director
  12. 2022-04-08
    ➖
    MEECHAN, Francesca resigned
    secretary
  13. 2022-04-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: John Meechan
  14. 2021-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-05-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-05-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2004-08-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CARDEAN COURIERS LTD
  20. 2004-08-26
    ➕
    MEECHAN, John Macklin appointed
    director
  21. 2004-08-26
    ➕
    MEECHAN, Francesca appointed
    secretary
  22. 2004-08-26
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2004-08-26
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +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.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

46/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — MEECHAN, Cara (same surname) appointed 2022-04-08. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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

Macklin Holdings Scotland Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Macklin Holdings Scotland Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
CARDEAN COURIERS LTD
This company · SC272470

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
Macklin Holdings Scotland Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control08/04/2022
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mrs Francesca Meechanceased 08/04/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr John Macklin Meechanceased 08/04/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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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£3.70M
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——33124y8261y
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£43.6k
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£125.7k—10026y8564y
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———190022y8267y
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——£601.6k—27y8258y
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———323y8267y
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———————
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
Incorporated2004-08-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC53202 — Unlicenced Carrier

Registered office

The Stables Blacktongue Farm
Greengairs
Airdrie
Lanarkshire
ML6 7TX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-09
Last: 2025-08-26

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MEECHAN, Cara→
director · ~37y · appointed 2022-04-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MEECHAN, John Macklin→
director · ~67y · appointed 2004-08-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MEECHAN, Francesca→
secretary · appointed 2004-08-26 · resigned 2022-04-08
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-26 · resigned 2004-08-26
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
John Meechan / Francesca Meechan
A registered charge—08/04/2022—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (54 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-26
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-04-21
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2022-04-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-04-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-04-19
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-04-19
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-18