FRONTLETTER LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC345578 · ltd · incorporated 2008-07-10
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 17.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Jul 2024
Net worth
£269.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Take-away food shops and mobile food stands
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 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

2 live charges · oldest 17.5y

65/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 17.5 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 (77/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
51 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 £269,136
Cash YoY
-12%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£124k
↓ 12% YoY
Net Worth
£269k
↑ 6.8% YoY
Current Assets
£133k
↓ 12% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£54k£108k£161k£215k£269kJul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Total assets£603.3k£689.7k
Current assets£133.3k£150.9k
Cash£123.9k£141.4k
Debtors£2.9k£2.9k
Net assets£269.1k£251.9k

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 (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2022-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-07-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-04-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-02-06
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  11. 2017-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-03-24
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2016-03-08
    ➖
    HERD, Alan Douglas resigned
    director
  15. 2015-10-12
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  16. 2009-01-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  17. 2008-10-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 2008-08-26
    ➕
    A.C. MORRISON & RICHARDS LLP appointed
    corporate-secretary
  19. 2008-08-26
    ➕
    HERD, Graeme Ian appointed
    director
  20. 2008-08-26
    ➕
    HERD, Stuart Neil appointed
    director
  21. 2008-08-26
    ➕
    HERD, Alan Douglas appointed
    director
  22. 2008-08-26
    ➖
    JORDAN NOMINEES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  23. 2008-07-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FRONTLETTER LIMITED
  24. 2008-07-10
    ➕
    JORDAN NOMINEES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director

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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Graeme Ian Herd
Individual · British · DOB 01/1965 · age 61
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mr Stuart Neil Herd
Individual · British · DOB 11/1962 · age 64
25–50%
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.

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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
Incorporated2008-07-10
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56103 — Take-away food shops and mobile food stands

Registered office

18 Bon Accord Crescent
Aberdeen
AB11 6XY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-21
Last: 2025-09-07

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

A.C. MORRISON & RICHARDS LLP→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-08-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HERD, Graeme Ian→
director · ~61y · appointed 2008-08-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HERD, Stuart Neil→
director · ~64y · appointed 2008-08-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HERD, Alan Douglas→
director · ~67y · appointed 2008-08-26 · resigned 2016-03-08
Resigned
JORDAN NOMINEES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2008-07-10 · resigned 2008-08-26
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property22/01/2009—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property28/10/2008—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (51 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-19