JOHN BLACK & SON LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC285529 · ltd · incorporated 2005-05-31
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
£168
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
54 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £168
Net assets shrinking
Down £237 YoY
Cash YoY
+103%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£2k
↑ 103% YoY
Net Worth
£168
↓ 59% YoY
Current Assets
£269k
↓ 2.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£55k£111k£166k£221k£276kJul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Total assets£3.1k£17.8k
Current assets£269.1k£276.3k
Cash£1.6k£799
Debtors£125.8k£143.6k
Net assets£168£405

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2017-05-09
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2017-05-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2017-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-07-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2016-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-03-17
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  17. 2005-05-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JOHN BLACK & SON LIMITED
  18. 2005-05-31
    ➕
    MURRAY, Fiona appointed
    secretary
  19. 2005-05-31
    ➕
    BLACK, John appointed
    director
  20. 2005-05-31
    ➕
    MURRAY, Fiona appointed
    director
  21. 2005-05-31
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2005-05-31
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2005-05-31
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2005-05-31
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BLACK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
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.
  • 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 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Fiona Murray
Individual · Scottish · DOB 09/1969 · age 57
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest06/04/2016
Mr John Black
Individual · Scottish · DOB 02/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest06/04/2016

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated2005-05-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47789 — Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)

Registered office

Oakfield House
378 Brandon Street
Motherwell
ML1 1XA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-14
Last: 2025-05-31

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MURRAY, Fiona→
secretary · appointed 2005-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLACK, John→
director · ~60y · appointed 2005-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURRAY, Fiona→
director · ~57y · appointed 2005-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-05-31 · resigned 2005-05-31
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-05-31 · resigned 2005-05-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-30