TRACTOR EXPORTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC277594 · ltd · incorporated 2004-12-17
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£514.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46610
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 6 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 21.3y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 21.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · 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
75
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
58 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 £514,613
Cash YoY
+71%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£16k
↑ 71% YoY
Net Worth
£515k
↑ 22% YoY
Current Assets
£740k
↑ 175% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£148k£296k£444k£592k£740kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£896.5k£751.8k
Current assets£740.1k£268.7k
Cash£16.1k£9.5k
Debtors£223.9k£219.3k
Net assets£514.6k£421.7k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-05
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  2. 2025-10-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Virgin Money)
  3. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-03-19
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  5. 2025-03-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Harvey Thomson Smith
  6. 2024-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-08-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-10-23
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2017-10-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  15. 2017-09-13
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  16. 2017-09-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  17. 2017-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-08-18
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  19. 2017-08-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
  20. 2016-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  21. 2011-06-20
    ➖
    FERGUSSON, Joanne resigned
    secretary
  22. 2005-02-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  23. 2004-12-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As TRACTOR EXPORTS LIMITED
  24. 2004-12-17
    ➕
    CRAIG, David appointed
    director
  25. 2004-12-17
    ➕
    FERGUSSON, Joanne appointed
    secretary
  26. 2004-12-17
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2004-12-17
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — 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 69. 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 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Craig
Individual · British · DOB 11/1957 · age 69
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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DURACARE LIMITED→
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——917y8581y
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——023y8581y
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——£1.01M—30y8365y
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———160023y8258y
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

10 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
Incorporated2004-12-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46610 — SIC 46610

Registered office

Low Coylton Yard Offices
Coylton
Ayr
KA6 6LE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last: 2025-12-17

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

CRAIG, David→
director · ~69y · appointed 2004-12-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FERGUSSON, Joanne→
secretary · appointed 2004-12-17 · resigned 2011-06-20
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-12-17 · resigned 2004-12-17
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
4
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Virgin Money)
A registered charge1 property31/10/2025—
outstanding
Harvey Thomson Smith / Lorraine Smith
A registered charge1 property17/03/2025—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property11/09/2017—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—14/08/2017—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property10/02/200523/10/2017
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (58 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-18
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-11-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-17