ALCHEMIST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC308699 · ltd · incorporated 2006-09-15
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
  • 78300Human resources provision and management of human resources functions
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 19.6y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 6 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
89 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees51004300

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
1
filing
  • • 1 mortgage
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 mortgage
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (41 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-02
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  2. 2026-03-02
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  3. 2025-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-07-25
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  6. 2024-07-23
    📄
    statement-of-companys-objects
    change-of-constitution · CC04
  7. 2024-07-12
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  8. 2024-07-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Alter Domus Trustees (UK) Limited (as Security Agent)
  9. 2024-07-05
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  10. 2024-07-05
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  11. 2024-07-04
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2024-07-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  13. 2024-06-14
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2024-06-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2024-06-06
    ➕
    GROVER, Katherine Hazel appointed
    director
  16. 2024-06-06
    ➖
    NICHOLSON, John Mcallister resigned
    director
  17. 2023-11-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2023-04-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  19. 2023-04-28
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  20. 2023-01-27
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  21. 2022-11-22
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AAMD
  22. 2022-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2022-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  24. 2022-01-06
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  25. 2021-12-31
    ➖
    SKELTON, Justin Charles resigned
    director
  26. 2021-10-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  27. 2020-10-01
    ➕
    PACKHAM, Stuart appointed
    director
  28. 2020-09-30
    ➖
    MCHUGH, Judith Myra resigned
    secretary
  29. 2020-02-19
    ➕
    NICHOLSON, John Mcallister appointed
    director
  30. 2020-01-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Rockpool (Security Trustee) Limited
  31. 2019-11-28
    ➖
    HINGLEY, Jason Owen resigned
    director
  32. 2013-06-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  33. 2010-06-30
    ➖
    PRESMAN, Gavin David Gilmoor resigned
    director
  34. 2006-10-25
    ➕
    MCHUGH, Judith Myra appointed
    secretary
  35. 2006-10-25
    ➖
    JENKINS & CO (FALKIRK) LTD resigned
    corporate-secretary
  36. 2006-09-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hobsons PLC
  37. 2006-09-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALCHEMIST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
  38. 2006-09-15
    ➕
    JENKINS & CO (FALKIRK) LTD appointed
    corporate-secretary
  39. 2006-09-15
    ➕
    HINGLEY, Jason Owen appointed
    director
  40. 2006-09-15
    ➕
    PRESMAN, Gavin David Gilmoor appointed
    director
  41. 2006-09-15
    ➕
    SKELTON, Justin Charles appointed
    director

Owner dependency

66/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

46/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Alchemist Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Alchemist Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
ALCHEMIST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
This company · SC308699

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Alchemist Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control25/11/2019
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Rockpool (Security Trustee) Limitedceased 31/03/2023· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
  • Mr Justin Charles Skeltonceased 25/11/2019· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control

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
Incorporated2006-09-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

Ironwork Business Centre
Castle Laurie Works
Falkirk
FK2 7XE
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-03
Last: 2025-10-20

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

GROVER, Katherine Hazel→
director · ~58y · appointed 2024-06-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PACKHAM, Stuart→
director · ~51y · appointed 2020-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCHUGH, Judith Myra→
secretary · appointed 2006-10-25 · resigned 2020-09-30
Resigned
JENKINS & CO (FALKIRK) LTD→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2006-09-15 · resigned 2006-10-25
Resigned
HINGLEY, Jason Owen→
director · ~51y · appointed 2006-09-15 · resigned 2019-11-28
Resigned
NICHOLSON, John Mcallister→
director · ~72y · appointed 2020-02-19 · resigned 2024-06-06
Resigned
PRESMAN, Gavin David Gilmoor→
director · ~58y · appointed 2006-09-15 · resigned 2010-06-30
Resigned
SKELTON, Justin Charles→
director · ~62y · appointed 2006-09-15 · resigned 2021-12-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Alter Domus Trustees (UK) (as Security Agent)
Alter Domus Trustees (UK) Limited (as Security Agent)
A registered charge1 property11/07/202402/03/2026
satisfied
Rockpool (Security Trustee)
Rockpool (Security Trustee) Limited
A registered charge—27/01/202004/07/2024
satisfied
Hobsons
Hobsons PLC
Floating charge1 property29/09/200611/06/2013

Recent filings (89 total)

mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2024-07-25
statement-of-companys-objects
change-of-constitution · CC04
2024-07-23
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-07-12
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-07-05
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-07-05
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-07-04
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-06-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-20