HUTTON AND READ HOLDINGS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC323846 · ltd · incorporated 2007-05-16
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 17.8y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of head offices
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 17.8y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 17.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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 (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
67 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Average employees2200

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2022-05-24
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2022-05-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2022-05-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2022-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2012-10-30
    ➖
    TURCAN CONNELL resigned
    corporate-secretary
  18. 2010-02-17
    ➖
    READ, Clifford Walter resigned
    director
  19. 2010-01-25
    ➖
    MORISONS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2010-01-25
    ➕
    TURCAN CONNELL appointed
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2008-08-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  22. 2007-05-31
    ➕
    READ, Dawn appointed
    director
  23. 2007-05-31
    ➕
    READ, Clifford Walter appointed
    director
  24. 2007-05-25
    ➕
    READ, Clifford George appointed
    director
  25. 2007-05-25
    ➖
    WARNOCK, James Archibald Kirkland resigned
    director
  26. 2007-05-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HUTTON AND READ HOLDINGS LIMITED
  27. 2007-05-16
    ➕
    MORISONS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2007-05-16
    ➕
    WARNOCK, James Archibald Kirkland 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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "READ" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

89/100
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 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

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
Ms Dawn Read
Individual · British · DOB 09/1965 · age 61
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Clifford George Readceased 02/03/2021· 50-75% shares

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

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
Incorporated2007-05-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70100 — Activities of head offices

Registered office

Burnwynd Works
Kirknewton
Mid Lothian
EH27 8EA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-28
Last: 2025-05-14

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

READ, Clifford George→
director · ~83y · appointed 2007-05-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
READ, Dawn→
director · ~61y · appointed 2007-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MORISONS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2007-05-16 · resigned 2010-01-25
Resigned
TURCAN CONNELL→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2010-01-25 · resigned 2012-10-30
Resigned
READ, Clifford Walter→
director · ~59y · appointed 2007-05-31 · resigned 2010-02-17
Resigned
WARNOCK, James Archibald Kirkland→
director · ~74y · appointed 2007-05-16 · resigned 2007-05-25
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property06/08/2008—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (67 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-24
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-05-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-22