C & R SPENCE LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC389706 · ltd · incorporated 2010-11-30
Investment thesis
Property vehicle with leveraged stack — refinance / partial-release angle.
Why interesting: Asset-backed; value largely in underlying property; lender engagement likely possible.
Why risky: Multiple lenders to manage; inter-creditor friction and partial-release cost possible.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

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

🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
£99.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: property-backed borrower 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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -72% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 9.4y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 9.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £99,231
Cash draining
Cash down 72% YoY
Cash YoY
-72%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£458
↓ 72% YoY
Net Worth
£99k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↓ 29% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£20k£40k£60k£79k£99kNov 2023Nov 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-11-302023-11-30
Total assets£770.0k£771.5k
Current assets£2.7k£3.7k
Cash£458£1.7k
Debtors£2.2k£2.1k
Net assets£99.2k£86.0k

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 (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-27
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  4. 2023-09-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2023-09-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2023-09-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-01-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2021-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-08-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-04-19
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  16. 2017-04-15
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  17. 2017-04-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  18. 2017-04-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Limited
  19. 2017-01-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2011-04-06
    ➕
    SPENCE, Lynne appointed
    director
  21. 2011-04-05
    ➖
    SPENCE, Ross John resigned
    director
  22. 2010-11-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As C & R SPENCE LTD.
  23. 2010-11-30
    ➕
    SPENCE, Craig David appointed
    secretary
  24. 2010-11-30
    ➕
    SPENCE, Craig David appointed
    director
  25. 2010-11-30
    ➕
    SPENCE, Ross John appointed
    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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SPENCE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

59/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • 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 Lynne Spence
Individual · British · DOB 11/1976 · age 50
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr Craig David Spence
Individual · British · DOB 09/1976 · age 50
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
Incorporated2010-11-30
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

25 Queen Street
Kirkwall
KW15 1JE
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-14
Last: 2025-11-30

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

SPENCE, Craig David→
secretary · appointed 2010-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, Craig David→
director · ~50y · appointed 2010-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, Lynne→
director · ~50y · appointed 2011-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, Ross John→
director · ~47y · appointed 2010-11-30 · resigned 2011-04-05
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property11/04/2017—
outstanding
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Limited
A registered charge1 property11/04/2017—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—20/01/2017—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (42 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-05
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-09-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-01-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-31