JOHN O'GROATS LEISURE LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC331657 · ltd · incorporated 2007-10-01
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
£1.94M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Hotels and similar accommodation
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 18.2y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
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
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
58 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 £1,938,691
Cash YoY
-25%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£406k
↓ 25% YoY
Net Worth
£1.9m
↑ 7.8% YoY
Current Assets
£561k
↓ 19% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£388k£775k£1.2m£1.6m£1.9mDec 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£2.41M£2.23M
Current assets£561.1k£690.5k
Cash£406.5k£544.3k
Debtors£24.4k£28.4k
Net assets£1.94M£1.80M

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. 2025-06-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2023-10-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2023-10-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2023-10-08
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  7. 2023-10-08
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  8. 2023-10-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2023-03-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2023-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-09-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-10-14
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  15. 2019-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2008-05-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 2008-04-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  19. 2008-02-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2007-10-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JOHN O'GROATS LEISURE LTD.
  21. 2007-10-01
    ➕
    MOWAT, Andrew Walter appointed
    secretary
  22. 2007-10-01
    ➕
    MOWAT, Andrew Walter appointed
    director
  23. 2007-10-01
    ➕
    MOWAT, Walter Desmond appointed
    director
  24. 2007-10-01
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2007-10-01
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  26. 2007-10-01
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-director
  27. 2007-10-01
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

91/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — 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 74 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Walter Desmond Mowat
Individual · British · DOB 01/1952 · age 74
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016
Mr Andrew Walter Mowat
Individual · Scottish · DOB 04/1977 · age 49
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest08/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Hospitality · KW postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
NORTH HOTELS LTD→
SC292029 · est 2005
——£1.08M—20y8384y
NORTHERN DEVELOPMENTS (ORKNEY) LIMITED→
SC285940 · est 2005
———300020y8364y
ALBERT HOTEL LIMITED→
SC196259 · est 1999
———1926y8265y
COMMERCIAL HOTEL (THURSO) LTD→
SC397127 · est 2011
——£602.3k—15y8258y
MACKAY HOTEL COMPANY LTD→
SC308943 · est 2006
———14119y8262y
QUEEN'S HOTEL (WICK) LTD→
SC269490 · est 2004
——£283.7k—21y8267y
R & S RENDALL PROPERTY LIMITED→
SC248002 · est 2003
——£826.3k—23y8263y
FOSSIL CENTRE COMMUNITY CAFE LIMITED→
SC353461 · est 2009
———017y8187y
NORTH RONALDSAY TRADING COMPANY LIMITED→
SC291480 · est 2005
———020y8189y
ORKNEY RETREATS LTD→
SC831838 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
PAYMÁN HOLDINGS 12 LTD→
SC710721 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
SUDR LIMITED→
SC651444 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
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
Incorporated2007-10-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC55100 — Hotels and similar accommodation

Registered office

Thorvald
East End
John O'Groats
Caithness
KW1 4YS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-05
Last: 2025-05-22

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MOWAT, Andrew Walter→
secretary · appointed 2007-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOWAT, Andrew Walter→
director · ~49y · appointed 2007-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOWAT, Walter Desmond→
director · ~74y · appointed 2007-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2007-10-01 · resigned 2007-10-01
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-director · appointed 2007-10-01 · resigned 2007-10-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property27/05/2008—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property15/04/2008—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property01/02/2008—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (58 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-10-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-08
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-10-08
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-10-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-31