OBAN ALES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC355617 · ltd · incorporated 2009-02-25
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28930
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 14.1y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 14.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
46 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
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£0Jan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2026-01-312025-01-31

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-03-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-08-31
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2018-08-31
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  13. 2018-03-27
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  14. 2018-03-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Tsb Bank PLC
  15. 2017-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-05-14
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  18. 2016-05-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Tsb Bank PLC
  19. 2016-05-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Tsb Bank PLC
  20. 2012-04-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Scotland PLC
  21. 2009-02-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As OBAN ALES LIMITED
  22. 2009-02-25
    ➕
    TREW, John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Trew
Individual · British · DOB 04/1981 · age 45
75–100%
—75-100% shares25/02/2017

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

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RUSSWOOD LTD.→
SC092505 · est 1985
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——6741y8566y
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——410056y8358y
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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
Incorporated2009-02-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC28930 — SIC 28930

Registered office

9 Mamore Road
Kinlochleven
PH50 4QP
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-11
Last: 2026-02-25

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

TREW, John→
director · ~45y · appointed 2009-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Tsb Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property08/03/2018—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Tsb Bank PLC
A registered charge—04/05/201631/08/2018
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Tsb Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property02/05/2016—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property02/04/2012—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (46 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-10