DAVIDSON & SHIRLEY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC339565 · ltd · incorporated 2008-03-13
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No material changes in the last 90 days.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£505.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Solicitors
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -55% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 15.8y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 15.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 £505,489
Net assets shrinking
Down £213,595 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 55% YoY
Cash YoY
-55%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£174k
↓ 55% YoY
Net Worth
£505k
↓ 30% YoY
Current Assets
£350k
↓ 36% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£144k£288k£431k£575k£719kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£508.2k£722.3k
Current assets£349.6k£549.7k
Cash£173.6k£384.4k
Debtors£176.0k£165.3k
Net assets£505.5k£719.1k

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 (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-15
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2024-10-15
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  5. 2024-10-15
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  6. 2024-10-09
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  7. 2024-10-09
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  8. 2024-10-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  9. 2024-10-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  10. 2024-10-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2024-10-01
    ➕
    FRAME, Laura Jane appointed
    director
  12. 2024-09-26
    ➕
    TENNANT, William appointed
    secretary
  13. 2024-09-26
    ➕
    SNEDDON, Walter Scott appointed
    director
  14. 2024-09-26
    ➖
    ROBERTSON, James resigned
    secretary
  15. 2024-09-26
    ➖
    TENNANT, William resigned
    director
  16. 2023-11-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2022-10-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2022-03-11
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  19. 2021-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2021-09-14
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  21. 2021-04-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  22. 2021-04-23
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  23. 2021-02-28
    ➖
    GRAY, Robert Colin resigned
    director
  24. 2020-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  25. 2010-10-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  26. 2008-03-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DAVIDSON & SHIRLEY LIMITED
  27. 2008-03-13
    ➕
    ROBERTSON, James appointed
    director
  28. 2008-03-13
    ➕
    ROBERTSON, James appointed
    secretary
  29. 2008-03-13
    ➕
    GRAY, Robert Colin appointed
    director
  30. 2008-03-13
    ➕
    TENNANT, William appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • 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 James Robertson
Individual · British · DOB 05/1961 · age 65
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mr William Tennant
Individual · British · DOB 08/1953 · age 73
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Robert Colin Grayceased 28/02/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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
Incorporated2008-03-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors

Registered office

11 Hope Street
Lanark
ML11 7ND

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-27
Last: 2026-03-13

Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)

TENNANT, William→
secretary · appointed 2024-09-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FRAME, Laura Jane→
director · ~47y · appointed 2024-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ROBERTSON, James→
director · ~65y · appointed 2008-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SNEDDON, Walter Scott→
director · ~53y · appointed 2024-09-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ROBERTSON, James→
secretary · appointed 2008-03-13 · resigned 2024-09-26
Resigned
GRAY, Robert Colin→
director · ~61y · appointed 2008-03-13 · resigned 2021-02-28
Resigned
TENNANT, William→
director · ~73y · appointed 2008-03-13 · resigned 2024-09-26
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
Floating charge1 property22/10/2010—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (52 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-28
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-10-15
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-10-15
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-10-15
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-10-09
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-10-09
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-10-09
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-10-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13