A. D. LIVINGSTON & SONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC274923 · ltd · incorporated 2004-10-19

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.

Why now

Window closing · high confidence

Getting harder to buy — profile has hardened into "well run hard buy" recently.

· Lifecycle stage: zombie → mature
· Investment thesis: zombie_hold → well_run_hard_buy
· Deal-killer verdict: complicated → clean
· Opportunity score: 70 → 80

Opportunity decay

hardening · 6-months

Hardening — profile is tightening. If you want to act, do it before the window closes further.

· 5 recent signals strengthening vs 0 weakening

What changed my view

Last 30 days

Picture improved over the last 30 days — 5 positive signals vs 0 negative.

↑Lifecycle stage: zombie → mature
·Investment thesis: zombie_hold → well_run_hard_buy
↑Deal-killer verdict: complicated → clean
↑Opportunity score: 70 → 80
↑Hygiene score: 80 → 90
+1 more

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Nov 2025

Net worth

£2.6k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

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

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

47 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £2,555

Net assets shrinking

Down £932 YoY

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£3k

↓ 27% YoY

Current Assets

£7k

↓ 40% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-11-30	2024-11-30	2023-11-30
Total assets	£3.7k	£5.4k	£4.8k
Current assets	£6.8k	£11.4k	£14.0k
Net assets	£2.6k	£3.5k	£912

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2026-07-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-29
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accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-08-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-08-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-08-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-09-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-11-04
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-07-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-11-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-06-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2004-10-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As A. D. LIVINGSTON & SONS LIMITED
2004-10-19
➕
LIVINGSTON, Ian Alexander appointed
secretary
2004-10-19
➕
LIVINGSTON, Ian Alexander appointed
director
2004-10-19
➕
LIVINGSTON, Kenneth appointed
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

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LIVINGSTON" — 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 66 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100

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 66. 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Ian Alexander Livingston Individual · British · DOB 04/1960 · age 66	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016
Mr Kenneth Livingston Individual · British · DOB 01/1965 · age 61	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Retail · DG postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
GRETNA GREEN LTD→ SC052082 · est 1972	£861.4k £646.1k–£1.08M	—	—	249	53y	88	76y
J. D. OWEN & SON (BUTCHERS) LIMITED→ SC246487 · est 2003	£87.3k £65.5k–£109.1k	—	—	12	23y	82	62y
CALMAC DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ SC084696 · est 1983	—	—	£3.65M	—	42y	82	75y
GRANITE WORKS LIMITED→ SC204911 · est 2000	—	—	£999.8k	—	26y	82	58y
HOME & GARDENS LIMITED→ SC281966 · est 2005	—	—	£2.17M	—	21y	82	68y
MONAGHAN JEWELLERS LIMITED→ SC257901 · est 2003	—	—	—	19	22y	82	73y
POUNDSAVER STORES LIMITED→ SC227065 · est 2002	—	—	£263.4k	—	24y	82	76y
R. BARBOUR & SONS. LIMITED→ SC010111 · est 1918	—	—	£3.34M	—	107y	82	61y
T.B. WATSON LIMITED→ SC013260 · est 1924	—	—	—	1300	101y	82	66y
CELSTEEL LIMITED→ SC039247 · est 1963	—	—	£1.71M	—	62y	81	94y
ALTERNATIVE CENTRE (DUMFRIES) LIMITED→ SC250007 · est 2003	—	—	£47.9k	—	23y	80	80y
B & N ROBERTSON LIMITED→ SC350499 · est 2008	—	—	—	300	17y	80	62y

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

Incorporated2004-10-19

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47599 — Retail sale of furniture, lighting, and similar (not musical instruments or scores) in specialised stores

Registered office

183 King Street

Castle Douglas

Kirkcudbrightshire

DG7 1DZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-08-31

Last made up to: 2025-11-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-02

Last: 2025-10-19

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

LIVINGSTON, Ian Alexander→

secretary · appointed 2004-10-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LIVINGSTON, Ian Alexander→

director · ~66y · appointed 2004-10-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LIVINGSTON, Kenneth→

director · ~61y · appointed 2004-10-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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