ROBERT NICOL LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC273331 · ltd · incorporated 2004-09-14

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

—

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 47510

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 5 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

5 live charges · oldest 21.0y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 21.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Lenders & charges

5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)

Directors & officers

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

64 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	800	800

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2025-12-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-11-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-01-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-09
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2015-12-08
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2015-12-04
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-09-25
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2009-01-09
➖
WILKINS, Alan John Colin resigned
director
2007-09-27
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2006-11-03
➕
WILKINS, Barbara Marion Rose appointed
director
2005-09-30
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2005-07-29
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2005-07-29
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2005-07-11
➕
WILKINS, Barbara Marion Rose appointed
secretary
2005-07-11
➖
HANVEY, John Howie resigned
secretary
2005-04-29
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2004-09-14
🏢
Company incorporated
As ROBERT NICOL LIMITED
2004-09-14
➕
HANVEY, John Howie appointed
secretary
2004-09-14
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-09-14
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-09-14
➕
WILKINS, Alan John Colin appointed
director

Owner dependency

93/100

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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
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

5 live charges

low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Miss Barbara Marion Rose Wilkins Individual · Scottish · DOB 07/1966 · age 60	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	07/09/2016

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

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Active · Retail · PH postcode area

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BROOMHALL LIMITED→ SC183103 · est 1998	—	—	—	29	28y	83	63y
D M (AGRI-SUPPLIES) LTD→ SC253917 · est 2003	—	—	—	3	22y	83	64y
THE CORPORATE CHRISTMAS TREE COMPANY LIMITED→ SC183535 · est 1998	—	—	—	15	28y	83	58y
ABERLOUR FILLING STATION LIMITED→ SC263273 · est 2004	—	—	—	0	22y	82	58y
BELINDA ROBERTSON RETAIL LIMITED→ SC234891 · est 2002	—	—	£306.2k	—	23y	82	67y
REN ET VOIGT LIMITED→ SC283336 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
RESTART LOCHABER COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY→ SC627206 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
THE HORSE SHOP LTD→ SC860586 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
THE STRATHEARN GALLERY LIMITED→ SC446644 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
THISTLE AND HEART LTD→ SC525283 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
TOUCH OF ASIA LTD→ SC857770 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
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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

Incorporated2004-09-14

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47510 — SIC 47510

Registered office

45 South Methven Street

Perth

PH1 5NU

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-28

Last: 2025-09-14

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

WILKINS, Barbara Marion Rose→

secretary · appointed 2005-07-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WILKINS, Barbara Marion Rose→

director · ~60y · appointed 2006-11-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HANVEY, John Howie→

secretary · appointed 2004-09-14 · resigned 2005-07-11

Resigned

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-09-14 · resigned 2004-09-14

Resigned

WILKINS, Alan John Colin→

director · ~87y · appointed 2004-09-14 · resigned 2009-01-09

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Standard security	1 property	27/09/2007	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Standard security	1 property	30/09/2005	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Standard security	1 property	29/07/2005	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Standard security	1 property	29/07/2005	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Bond & floating charge	1 property	29/04/2005	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.