THE GYROCOPTER COMPANY UK LTD

🌳Matureactive
SC329193 · ltd · incorporated 2007-08-13
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£52.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 93199Other sports activities
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
65 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £52,594
Net assets shrinking
Down £34,572 YoY
Cash YoY
-18%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£101k
↓ 18% YoY
Net Worth
£53k
↓ 40% YoY
Current Assets
£106k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£27k£55k£82k£110k£137kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£55.4k£90.2k
Current assets£105.8k£137.0k
Cash£100.6k£123.1k
Debtors£3.4k£11.2k
Net assets£52.6k£87.2k

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
  1. 2025-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company
    officers · CH01
  7. 2021-07-09
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  8. 2021-07-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2021-07-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2021-03-15
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  17. 2021-03-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  18. 2020-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2019-09-13
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  20. 2011-01-01
    ➕
    HARWOOD, Katharine Helen appointed
    director
  21. 2007-10-23
    ➕
    HARWOOD, Katharine Helen appointed
    secretary
  22. 2007-10-23
    ➖
    HEDGER, Kati resigned
    secretary
  23. 2007-09-07
    ➕
    HEDGER, Kati appointed
    secretary
  24. 2007-09-07
    ➖
    SMART B2B SERVICES LTD resigned
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2007-08-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As THE GYROCOPTER COMPANY UK LTD
  26. 2007-08-13
    ➕
    HARWOOD, Philip Andrew, Dr appointed
    director
  27. 2007-08-13
    ➕
    SMART B2B SERVICES LTD appointed
    corporate-secretary

Owner dependency

84/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Dr Philip Andrew Harwood
Individual · British · DOB 04/1964 · age 62
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Katharine Helen Harwood
Individual · British · DOB 08/1968 · age 58
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2007-08-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.

Registered office

West Cairnconon
Carmyllie
Arbroath
Angus
DD11 3SB
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-27
Last: 2025-08-13

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

HARWOOD, Katharine Helen→
secretary · appointed 2007-10-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARWOOD, Katharine Helen→
director · ~58y · appointed 2011-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARWOOD, Philip Andrew, Dr→
director · ~62y · appointed 2007-08-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HEDGER, Kati→
secretary · appointed 2007-09-07 · resigned 2007-10-23
Resigned
SMART B2B SERVICES LTD→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2007-08-13 · resigned 2007-09-07
Resigned

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

Recent filings (65 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-26
change-person-director-company
officers · CH01
2021-07-09
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-07-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-07-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-07-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-03-15