PROBE DRAINAGE SPECIALISTS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC315282 · ltd · incorporated 2007-01-24
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£490.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -35% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 7.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 7.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
63 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £490,707
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,642 YoY
Cash YoY
-35%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£20k
↓ 35% YoY
Net Worth
£491k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£675k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £922.1k | £1.01M |
| Current assets | £675.1k | £672.4k |
| Cash | £19.6k | £30.3k |
| Debtors | £639.2k | £616.8k |
| Net assets | £490.7k | £492.3k |
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
- 2025-10-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-06-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-02-26📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-02-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-02-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-02-02📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-24📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2015-10-01➕REID, Francis Gorman appointeddirector
- 2011-04-01➖RAFFERTY, William Alexander resigneddirector
- 2007-01-24🏢Company incorporatedAs PROBE DRAINAGE SPECIALISTS LIMITED
- 2007-01-24➕WALSH, David appointedsecretary
- 2007-01-24➕WALSH, David appointeddirector
- 2007-01-24➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2007-01-24➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2007-01-24➕RAFFERTY, William Alexander appointeddirector
- 2007-01-24➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2007-01-24➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Walsh Individual · British · DOB 08/1961 · age 65 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · firm interest | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Francis Gorman Reid Individual · British · DOB 03/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 02/02/2018 |
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 · Construction · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P3 CONSULTING SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC348234 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| PFW PLUMBING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC704504 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PIPES & ROPES SERVICES LTD→ SC762253 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| PRESTIGE SPACES LTD→ SC884491 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PRICELESSDECOR LTD→ SC579522 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| PRO CONCEPT FITOUT LTD→ SC711108 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PROJECT REWIRE LTD→ SC755288 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| PTEC ELECTRICAL LIMITED→ SC865672 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Q BUILD LIMITED→ SC340745 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| QA QC CONSTRUCTION LTD→ SC818614 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| QUANTUM MULTI TRADES LTD→ SC881147 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| QUINTIN TANNOCK & COMPANY LIMITED→ SC278519 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2007-01-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Registered office
9 Glasgow Road
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA1 3QS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-17
Last: 2025-07-03
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
Active
REID, Francis Gorman→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2015-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WALSH, David→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2007-01-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-01-24 · resigned 2007-01-24
RAFFERTY, William Alexander→
Resigneddirector · ~68y · appointed 2007-01-24 · resigned 2011-04-01
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-01-24 · resigned 2007-01-24
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 | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 22/02/2019 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (63 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-06-26