THORNTOUN (2008) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC337344 · ltd · incorporated 2008-02-06
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of other holding companies n.e.c.
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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).

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees00

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

4 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
3
filings
  • 2 officers
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-02-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2026-02-01
    JOHNSTONE, Agnes Murray Murphy resigned
    director
  4. 2026-02-01
    JOHNSTONE, William Murdoch resigned
    director
  5. 2025-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-02-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2025-02-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2025-02-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2024-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-11-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-04-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2020-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-group
    accounts · AA
  18. 2014-03-19
    JOHNSTONE, Agnes Murray Murphy appointed
    director
  19. 2008-03-28
    BROWN, David John appointed
    secretary
  20. 2008-03-28
    MACDONALDS resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2008-03-05
    JOHNSTONE, Richard Bell appointed
    director
  22. 2008-03-05
    JOHNSTONE, William Murdoch appointed
    director
  23. 2008-03-05
    WHITE, Joyce Helen resigned
    nominee-director
  24. 2008-02-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As THORNTOUN (2008) LIMITED
  25. 2008-02-06
    MACDONALDS appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2008-02-06
    WHITE, Joyce Helen appointed
    nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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

1 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: JOHNSTONE, Agnes Murray Murphy resigned 2026-02-01; JOHNSTONE, William Murdoch resigned 2026-02-01

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Richard Bell Johnstone
Individual · British · DOB 01/1964 · age 62
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2008-02-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC64209 — Activities of other holding companies n.e.c.

Registered office

Thorntoun Estate
Crosshouse
Kilmarnock
Ayrshire
KA2 0BH
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-20
Last: 2026-02-06

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

BROWN, David John
secretary · appointed 2008-03-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTONE, Richard Bell
director · ~62y · appointed 2008-03-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACDONALDS
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2008-02-06 · resigned 2008-03-28
Resigned
JOHNSTONE, Agnes Murray Murphy
director · ~87y · appointed 2014-03-19 · resigned 2026-02-01
Resigned
JOHNSTONE, William Murdoch
director · ~87y · appointed 2008-03-05 · resigned 2026-02-01
Resigned
WHITE, Joyce Helen
nominee-director · ~67y · appointed 2008-02-06 · resigned 2008-03-05
Resigned

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

Recent filings (60 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-12
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-02-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-02-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2023-11-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2022-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-12-23