MARKUP SYSTEMS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC277961 · ltd · incorporated 2005-01-05
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 steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

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 Mar 2026
Net worth
£7.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £7,652
Net assets shrinking
Down £171 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£8k
↓ 2.2% YoY
Current Assets
£20k
↑ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£4k£8k£12k£16k£20kMar 2025Mar 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2026-03-312025-03-31
Total assets£7.7k£7.8k
Current assets£20.0k£16.2k
Net assets£7.7k£7.8k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-01-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-08-12
    ➕
    KENNY, Paul Enda appointed
    director
  14. 2015-08-12
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  15. 2015-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-01-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2006-06-21
    ➕
    KENNY, Paul Enda appointed
    secretary
  18. 2006-06-21
    ➖
    MORTON FRASER SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  19. 2005-03-24
    ➖
    MORTON FRASER DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  20. 2005-02-09
    ➕
    THOMPSON, Henry Swift, Dr appointed
    director
  21. 2005-01-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MARKUP SYSTEMS LIMITED
  22. 2005-01-05
    ➕
    MORTON FRASER SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2005-01-05
    ➕
    MORTON FRASER DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
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 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Dr Henry Swift Thompson
Individual · British · DOB 07/1950 · age 76
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/06/2016

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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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
Incorporated2005-01-05
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

Cavers Garden Farm
Denholm
Hawick
Roxburghshire
TD9 8LN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-12-31
Last made up to: 2026-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-11
Last: 2025-12-28

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

KENNY, Paul Enda→
secretary · appointed 2006-06-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KENNY, Paul Enda→
director · ~77y · appointed 2015-08-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THOMPSON, Henry Swift, Dr→
director · ~76y · appointed 2005-02-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MORTON FRASER SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-01-05 · resigned 2006-06-21
Resigned
MORTON FRASER DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-01-05 · resigned 2005-03-24
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-07