VISTA DEVELOPMENTS (SCOTLAND) LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC322734 · ltd · incorporated 2007-05-03
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 May 2025
Net worth
£922.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of recreational and sports goods
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 78). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 18.8y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
43 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £922,572

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£212k
Net Worth
£923k
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£185k£369k£554k£738k£923kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Cash£211.7k—
Net assets£922.6k—
Average employees—100

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-11
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  5. 2023-10-11
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  6. 2023-10-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  7. 2023-10-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  8. 2023-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-03-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-05-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2015-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2009-10-15
    ➖
    GIBB, Janice resigned
    secretary
  20. 2007-08-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  21. 2007-07-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  22. 2007-06-27
    ➖
    GIBB, Janice resigned
    director
  23. 2007-05-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As VISTA DEVELOPMENTS (SCOTLAND) LTD
  24. 2007-05-03
    ➕
    GIBB, James appointed
    director
  25. 2007-05-03
    ➕
    GIBB, Janice appointed
    secretary
  26. 2007-05-03
    ➕
    GIBB, Janice appointed
    director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
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.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Gibb
Individual · British · DOB 07/1948 · age 78
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/05/2016

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

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ADAM WILSON & SONS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→
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————24y8286y
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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
Incorporated2007-05-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC77210 — Renting and leasing of recreational and sports goods

Registered office

Threepwood Farm
Sorn Road
Galston
KA4 8ND

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-17
Last: 2025-05-03

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

GIBB, James→
director · ~78y · appointed 2007-05-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GIBB, Janice→
secretary · appointed 2007-05-03 · resigned 2009-10-15
Resigned
GIBB, Janice→
director · ~69y · appointed 2007-05-03 · resigned 2007-06-27
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security1 property14/08/200711/10/2023
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Floating charge1 property27/07/200711/10/2023

Recent filings (43 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-20
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-10-11
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-28