A & J MORTGAGES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC287935 · ltd · incorporated 2005-07-26

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 Sept 2025

Net worth

£9.7k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Activities of mortgage finance companies

Sector: Financial & insurance

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

52 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 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £9,735

Cash YoY

+0%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£23k

~ YoY

Net Worth

£10k

↑ 25% YoY

Current Assets

£23k

~ YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-09-30	2024-09-30
Total assets	£9.7k	£7.8k
Current assets	£22.9k	£22.8k
Cash	£22.9k	£22.8k
Net assets	£9.7k	£7.8k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2026-04-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-31
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2019-06-04
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-02-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-03-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-08-11
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-02-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2008-03-12
➕
DARGE, Jacqueline appointed
secretary
2008-03-12
➖
MCTAGGART, John William resigned
secretary
2008-03-12
➖
MCTAGGART, John William resigned
director
2005-07-26
🏢
Company incorporated
As A & J MORTGAGES LIMITED
2005-07-26
➕
DARGE, Andrew Marti appointed
director
2005-07-26
➕
MCTAGGART, John William appointed
secretary
2005-07-26
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2005-07-26
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2005-07-26
➕
MCTAGGART, John William appointed
director
2005-07-26
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2005-07-26
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100

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.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

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 63. 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Andrew Marti Darge Individual · British · DOB 08/1963 · age 63	75–100%	75–100%	board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Financial services · PA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
AFFLUENT FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD.→ SC161571 · est 1995	—	—	—	700	30y	82	62y
FIREBIRD CAPITAL LTD→ SC244105 · est 2003	—	—	—	—	23y	82	73y
MANOR PARK FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC133100 · est 1991 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	34y	82	69y
ADVANCED (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC280438 · est 2005	—	—	£106.0k	—	21y	81	64y
FINANCIAL PLANNING OPTIONS LTD→ SC319521 · est 2007	—	—	£278.2k	—	19y	81	59y
ADVANCED FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LIMITED→ SC303141 · est 2006	—	—	£13.0k	—	19y	80	66y
MAIR FINANCE LIMITED→ SC585979 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
MORANSH FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC772473 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
MORTGAGE SOURCING LIMITED→ SC646474 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
NJK LOSS ADJUSTERS LTD→ SC754124 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
PHOENIX WEALTH SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC222334 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	—	—
ROBB & ASSOCIATES LTD→ SC484800 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—

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

Incorporated2005-07-26

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC64922 — Activities of mortgage finance companies

Registered office

21 Forbes Place

Paisley

PA1 1UT

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-06-30

Last made up to: 2025-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-09

Last: 2025-07-26

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

DARGE, Jacqueline→

secretary · appointed 2008-03-12

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DARGE, Andrew Marti→

director · ~63y · appointed 2005-07-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCTAGGART, John William→

secretary · appointed 2005-07-26 · resigned 2008-03-12

Resigned

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-07-26 · resigned 2005-07-26

Resigned

MCTAGGART, John William→

director · ~63y · appointed 2005-07-26 · resigned 2008-03-12

Resigned

STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-07-26 · resigned 2005-07-26

Resigned

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