CAIRNS FILM SERVICES LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC388628 · ltd · incorporated 2010-11-11
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Motion picture production activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
35 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-14📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2022-11-14📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-11-14📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-11-11🏢Company incorporatedAs CAIRNS FILM SERVICES LIMITED
- 2010-11-11➕CAIRNS, Neil John appointedsecretary
- 2010-11-11➕CAIRNS, Neil John appointeddirector
- 2010-11-11➕MCGOWAN, Phyllis appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CAIRNS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Neil John Cairns Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| CARNAN CONSULTANTS LTD→ SC392221 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CARTVALE CONSULTING LTD→ SC317973 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| CATFISHTEC LIMITED→ SC434723 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CD SUPPORT LTD→ SC374884 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| CENTRLINE LTD→ SC657552 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| CHARCOAL FROST LIMITED→ SC366242 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| CHATBACK LIMITED→ SC255925 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| CHESTNUT TREE FILMS LIMITED→ SC858468 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2010-11-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC59111 — Motion picture production activities
Registered office
92 92 Victoria Crescent Road
Glasgow
G12 9JL
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-25
Last: 2025-11-11
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
Active
CAIRNS, Neil John→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2010-11-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCGOWAN, Phyllis→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2010-11-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (35 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-11-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-11-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-24