M.G. CARS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC307795 · ltd · incorporated 2006-08-31
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£6.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45112
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 79). 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 (79/100)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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
51 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £6,753
Net assets shrinking
Down £210 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£7k
↓ 3.0% YoY
Current Assets
£104
↓ 75% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £104 | £161 |
| Current assets | £104 | £421 |
| Net assets | £6.8k | £7.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 gazette
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-22📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-11-11📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2025-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-26📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2023-07-25📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-30📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-26📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2021-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-08-31➖MACGILLIVRAY, Janet Christie resignedsecretary
- 2006-08-31🏢Company incorporatedAs M.G. CARS LIMITED
- 2006-08-31➕MACGILLIVRAY, Robert Allan appointeddirector
- 2006-08-31➕MACGILLIVRAY, Janet Christie appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
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 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years.
- 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
cleanNo 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 Robert Allan Macgillivray Individual · British · DOB 10/1947 · age 79 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence | 31/08/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Automotive · ML postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BROWNSBURN GARAGE LIMITED→ SC242933 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 600 | 23y | 83 | 58y |
| SELECT VEHICLES SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC858360 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| TDC AUTOS LIMITED→ SC737786 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| THOMAS SCOTT (SEATING) LIMITED→ SC242425 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| THOMSON COMMERCIALS LIMITED→ SC621421 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| TOMMY'S GARAGE LTD→ SC509123 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| TONY COOPER CARS (SCOTLAND) LTD.→ SC353828 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| TONY'S RECOVERY AND REPAIRS LTD→ SC759990 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| TOP TYRES FITTED LTD→ SC854088 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| TRAILER SERVICES SCOTLAND LTD→ SC810886 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| TRUCKABOUT LTD→ SC719719 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| TVK MOTORS LTD→ SC812981 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2006-08-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112
Registered office
Blair House, 6 Blair Road
Crossford
Lanark
ML8 5RF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-30
Last: 2025-08-16
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
MACGILLIVRAY, Robert Allan→
Activedirector · ~79y · appointed 2006-08-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MACGILLIVRAY, Janet Christie→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-08-31 · resigned 2011-08-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (51 total)
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-19
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-12
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-07-26
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-28
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-07-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-23