FIRTHBRAE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC294203 · ltd · incorporated 2005-12-07
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
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£164
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £164
Cash YoY
-21%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£33k
↓ 21% YoY
Net Worth
£164
↑ 48% YoY
Current Assets
£59k
↑ 29% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£12k£24k£35k£47k£59kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£164£111
Current assets£58.9k£45.5k
Cash£32.9k£41.6k
Debtors£26.0k£3.9k
Net assets£164£111

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-31
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  4. 2023-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2022-12-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2022-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-10-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2019-10-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2019-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-09-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-02-09
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  16. 2017-02-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2007-05-08
    ➕
    GATT, Victoria Lucia appointed
    secretary
  18. 2007-05-08
    ➕
    GATT, Victoria Lucia appointed
    director
  19. 2007-05-08
    ➖
    GATT, Shona resigned
    secretary
  20. 2006-01-17
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2006-01-17
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 2005-12-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FIRTHBRAE LIMITED
  23. 2005-12-07
    ➕
    GATT, David John appointed
    director
  24. 2005-12-07
    ➕
    GATT, Shona appointed
    secretary
  25. 2005-12-07
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2005-12-07
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

66/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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
David John Gatt
Individual · British · DOB 12/1986 · age 40
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Victoria Lucia Gatt
Individual · British · DOB 12/1978 · age 48
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2005-12-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Old School House Loch Street
Whitehills
Banff
AB45 2LT
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-01
Last: 2025-11-17

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

GATT, Victoria Lucia→
secretary · appointed 2007-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GATT, David John→
director · ~40y · appointed 2005-12-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GATT, Victoria Lucia→
director · ~48y · appointed 2007-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GATT, Shona→
secretary · appointed 2005-12-07 · resigned 2007-05-08
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-12-07 · resigned 2006-01-17
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-12-07 · resigned 2006-01-17
Resigned

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

Recent filings (72 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-19
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2024-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-25