NOVA ALARMS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC338000 · ltd · incorporated 2008-02-18
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 18.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 18.1y

65/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.1 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 (78/100)

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
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
55 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£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 employees12001200

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-11
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2024-11-06
    ➖
    MCBAIN, John Mcdonald resigned
    director
  4. 2024-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  10. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2022-12-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2022-10-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-03-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2021-03-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2020-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2008-03-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2008-02-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As NOVA ALARMS LIMITED
  21. 2008-02-18
    ➕
    MCBAIN, Margaret Elaine appointed
    secretary
  22. 2008-02-18
    ➕
    MCBAIN, John appointed
    director
  23. 2008-02-18
    ➕
    MCBAIN, Margaret Elaine appointed
    director
  24. 2008-02-18
    ➕
    MCBAIN, John Mcdonald appointed
    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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — 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 71 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 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

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
John Mcbain
Individual · British · DOB 01/1979 · age 47
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting19/12/2022
Mr John Mcdonald Mcbain
Individual · British · DOB 12/1953 · age 73
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting18/02/2017
Mrs Margaret Elaine Mcbain
Individual · Irish · DOB 08/1955 · age 71
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting18/02/2017

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

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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
Incorporated2008-02-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Scott Way
West Pitkerro Industrial Estate
Broughty Ferry
Dundee
DD5 3RX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-12
Last: 2025-11-28

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

MCBAIN, Margaret Elaine→
secretary · appointed 2008-02-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCBAIN, John→
director · ~47y · appointed 2008-02-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCBAIN, Margaret Elaine→
director · ~71y · appointed 2008-02-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCBAIN, John Mcdonald→
director · ~73y · appointed 2008-02-18 · resigned 2024-11-06
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 property28/03/2008—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (55 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-12-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-12-20