JOHN H MCNAE LTD.

🌳Matureactive

SC294906 · ltd · incorporated 2005-12-28

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 18.7y old — refinance window within 12 months

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Dec 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 46610

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 18.7y

70/100

ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

· Oldest live charge is 18.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

63 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

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

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2024-12-31	2023-12-31
Average employees	1600	1600

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2025-06-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
📄
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2025-04-30
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-04-30
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-04-30
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-04-30
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-04-30
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-07-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-05-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-07-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-01-29
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2015-09-16
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2007-10-19
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2006-01-09
➕
MCNAE, Neil appointed
director
2005-12-28
🏢
Company incorporated
As JOHN H MCNAE LTD.
2005-12-28
➕
MCNAE, Mary Graham appointed
secretary
2005-12-28
➕
MCNAE, Andrew appointed
director
2005-12-28
➕
MCNAE, John Howie appointed
director
2005-12-28
➕
MCNAE, Mary Graham appointed
director
2005-12-28
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2005-12-28
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2005-12-28
➕
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2005-12-28
➖
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

88/100

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

-4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MCNAE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 78 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Neil Mcnae Individual · British · DOB 10/1975 · age 51	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	18/07/2023
Mr Andrew Mcnae Individual · British · DOB 12/1972 · age 54	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	18/07/2023

2 historic (ceased) PSCs

Mrs Mary Graham Mcnaeceased 18/07/2023· 25-50% shares
Mr John Howie Mcnaeceased 18/07/2023· 25-50% shares

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DURACARE LIMITED→ SC550705 · est 2016	£8.14M £6.11M–£10.18M	—	—	5900	9y	84	76y
NOBEL NC EUROPE LIMITED→ SC355464 · est 2009	£5.56M £4.17M–£6.95M	—	—	9	17y	85	81y
NOBEL TRADING LIMITED→ SC245627 · est 2003	£4.40M £3.30M–£5.50M	—	—	0	23y	85	81y
GCBW CATRINE LTD→ SC022403 · est 1943 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	83y	83	74y
INTER DEPENDENT PURCHASING LIMITED→ SC290783 · est 2005	—	—	£165.9k	—	20y	83	63y
A. DEWAR RATTRAY LIMITED→ SC021038 · est 1939	—	—	£1.02M	—	87y	82	87y
CUNNINGHAM TRUCK PARTS LIMITED→ SC285268 · est 2005	—	—	£1.37M	—	21y	82	58y
IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC137822 · est 1992	—	—	£94.2k	—	34y	82	65y
JOHN DAWSON BUTCHERS LIMITED→ SC245500 · est 2003	—	—	—	1600	23y	82	58y
NOVA DOG CHEWS LIMITED→ SC283109 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	82	59y
R & L MILLER LIMITED→ SC267227 · est 2004	—	—	£5.53M	—	22y	82	68y
RAMSAY & JACKSON LIMITED→ SC298598 · est 2006	—	—	£6.20M	—	20y	82	69y

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2005-12-28

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC46610 — SIC 46610

Registered office

Mayfield, Yett

Tarbolton

Ayrshire

KA5 5NX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-01

Last: 2025-07-18