JOHN MACLAREN AND SONS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC291419 · ltd · incorporated 2005-10-07
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 10.8y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£6.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other food services
Sector: Accommodation & food service
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 10.8y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 10.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
21 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
59 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £6,564
Net assets shrinking
Down £18,940 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£7k
↓ 74% YoY
Current Assets
£27k
↓ 66% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £6.6k | £25.5k |
| Current assets | £26.5k | £79.0k |
| Net assets | £6.6k | £25.5k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-07📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-09-30➕BARCLAY, David Ellis appointeddirector
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-22➕PURDIE, Caroline Amy appointeddirector
- 2019-02-22📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2018-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-02-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-02-02📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-06-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-31➖BARCLAY, Colin Shields resignedsecretary
- 2015-07-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
- 2006-10-07➕BALL, Stephen James appointeddirector
- 2006-10-07➖D.W. COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-10-07➖D.W. DIRECTOR 1 LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-10-07🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHN MACLAREN AND SONS LIMITED
- 2005-10-07➕BARCLAY, Colin Shields appointeddirector
- 2005-10-07➕BARCLAY, Colin Shields appointedsecretary
- 2005-10-07➕D.W. COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-10-07➕D.W. DIRECTOR 1 LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Stephen James Ball Individual · British · DOB 03/1954 · age 72 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 07/10/2016 |
Mr Colin Shields Barclay Individual · Canadian · DOB 03/1958 · age 68 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 07/10/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- John Maclaren Limitedceased 07/10/2016· 75-100% shares
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 →Similar companies
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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
Incorporated2005-10-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56290 — Other food services
Registered office
3 Peel Park Place
East Kilbride
Glasgow
G74 5LW
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-19
Last: 2025-10-05
Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)
BALL, Stephen James→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2006-10-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARCLAY, Colin Shields→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2005-10-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARCLAY, David Ellis→
Activedirector · ~35y · appointed 2024-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PURDIE, Caroline Amy→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2019-02-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARCLAY, Colin Shields→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-10-07 · resigned 2016-08-31
D.W. COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-10-07 · resigned 2006-10-07
D.W. DIRECTOR 1 LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-10-07 · resigned 2006-10-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 14/07/2015 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (59 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-09
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-08-21