FRED WATT LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC372572 · ltd · incorporated 2010-02-08
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 15.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£94.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47782
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 15.4y

50/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 15.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
45 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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £94,550
Net assets shrinking
Down £27,588 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£95k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Assets
£83k
↓ 4.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£24k£49k£73k£98k£122kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£153.8k£198.8k
Current assets£82.7k£87.0k
Net assets£94.5k£122.1k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 address
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-23
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-02-27
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  9. 2020-02-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-02-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  11. 2019-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2019-02-24
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2018-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-11-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2017-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2010-11-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 2010-02-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FRED WATT LTD.
  19. 2010-02-08
    ➕
    WEBSTER, Fred Watt appointed
    director
  20. 2010-02-08
    ➕
    WEBSTER, Lindsey appointed
    director
  21. 2010-02-08
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2010-02-08
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2010-02-08
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
    director
  24. 2010-02-08
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
    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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
  • +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 65. 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 16 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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
Mrs Lindsey Webster
Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61
25–50%
—25-50% shares07/04/2016
Mr Fred Webster
Individual · British · DOB 06/1961 · age 65
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2010-02-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47782 — SIC 47782

Registered office

Office
Depot Road
Huntly
AB54 8JX
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-22
Last: 2026-02-08

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

WEBSTER, Fred Watt→
director · ~65y · appointed 2010-02-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WEBSTER, Lindsey→
director · ~61y · appointed 2010-02-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2010-02-08 · resigned 2010-02-08
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
director · ~76y · appointed 2010-02-08 · resigned 2010-02-08
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
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property17/02/2020—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Floating charge1 property18/11/2010—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (45 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-31
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-25