NORTHERN DEVELOPMENTS (ORKNEY) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC285940 · ltd · incorporated 2005-06-08
Investment thesis
Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.
Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.
Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 17.2y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Public houses and bars
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 17.2y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 17.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (5 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
68 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Average employees30002400

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-06-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-07-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-04-10
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  10. 2018-04-10
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  11. 2017-06-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-06-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2016-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-06-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-07-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2009-02-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  18. 2009-02-24
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Jacqueline resigned
    director
  19. 2009-02-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  20. 2005-11-17
    ➕
    SCOTT, Graham Elliot appointed
    secretary
  21. 2005-11-17
    ➕
    SCOTT, Graham Elliot appointed
    director
  22. 2005-11-17
    ➕
    SCOTT, Heather Jane appointed
    director
  23. 2005-11-17
    ➖
    SCOTT, Yvonne Christine resigned
    secretary
  24. 2005-11-17
    ➖
    LEARMONTH, Robert Sinclair resigned
    director
  25. 2005-11-17
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Jacqueline appointed
    director
  26. 2005-06-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As NORTHERN DEVELOPMENTS (ORKNEY) LIMITED
  27. 2005-06-08
    ➕
    SCOTT, Anthony Learmonth appointed
    director
  28. 2005-06-08
    ➕
    SCOTT, Yvonne Christine appointed
    director
  29. 2005-06-08
    ➕
    SCOTT, Yvonne Christine appointed
    secretary
  30. 2005-06-08
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2005-06-08
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 2005-06-08
    ➕
    LEARMONTH, Robert Sinclair appointed
    director

Owner dependency

66/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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.)
🔒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

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
Incorporated2005-06-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56302 — Public houses and bars

Registered office

Carisbrooke, Old Finstown Road
St Ola
Orkney
KW15 1TR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-22
Last: 2025-06-08

Officers (5 active · 4 resigned)

SCOTT, Graham Elliot→
secretary · appointed 2005-11-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCOTT, Anthony Learmonth→
director · ~64y · appointed 2005-06-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCOTT, Graham Elliot→
director · ~61y · appointed 2005-11-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCOTT, Heather Jane→
director · ~58y · appointed 2005-11-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCOTT, Yvonne Christine→
director · ~60y · appointed 2005-06-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCOTT, Yvonne Christine→
secretary · appointed 2005-06-08 · resigned 2005-11-17
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-06-08 · resigned 2005-06-08
Resigned
LEARMONTH, Robert Sinclair→
director · ~43y · appointed 2005-06-08 · resigned 2005-11-17
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Jacqueline→
director · ~53y · appointed 2005-11-17 · resigned 2009-02-24
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Standard security1 property26/02/2009—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Floating charge1 property18/02/2009—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (68 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-06-15