HIGHLAND AQUA TEAM LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC390606 · ltd · incorporated 2010-12-20
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Veterinary activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive 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: 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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 10.9y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 10.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (69/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 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
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.
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|
| Average employees | 1100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-23📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2024-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-25📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-10-11🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Highland Opportunity (Investments) Limited
- 2019-07-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-07-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-07-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-07-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-07-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-07-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-05-26🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
- 2012-05-22➕SUTHERLAND, Ann appointedsecretary
- 2012-05-22➖SUTHERLAND, Michael Charles Charles resignedsecretary
- 2011-09-10➖FLETT, William James resigneddirector
- 2010-12-20🏢Company incorporatedAs HIGHLAND AQUA TEAM LTD
- 2010-12-20➕SUTHERLAND, Michael Charles appointeddirector
- 2010-12-20➕SUTHERLAND, Michael Charles Charles appointedsecretary
- 2010-12-20➕FLETT, William James appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +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
88/100
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.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Ann Sutherland Individual · British · DOB 07/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Michael Charles Sutherland Individual · British · DOB 11/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% 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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| FINSBAY HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC803805 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| GASK CONTRACTORS LTD→ SC792922 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| GLOBAL HIGHLAND LIMITED→ SC497149 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| GMAC FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD→ SC595888 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| HARRIS HYDROGELS LIMITED→ SC643660 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND BUSINESS COACHING LTD→ SC460344 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND CLASSIC CAR HIRE LTD→ SC660613 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND COLLECTIVE LTD→ SC834804 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2010-12-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC75000 — Veterinary activities
Registered office
Dorrachan
Kilmuir Easter
Invergordon
Ross-Shire
IV18 0LJ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-14
Last: 2026-02-28
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
SUTHERLAND, Michael Charles→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2010-12-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SUTHERLAND, Michael Charles Charles→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2010-12-20 · resigned 2012-05-22
FLETT, William James→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2010-12-20 · resigned 2011-09-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Highland Opportunity (Investments) Highland Opportunity (Investments) Limited | A registered charge | — | 11/10/2019 | — | |
| outstanding | NatWest Group Rbs Invoice Finance Limited | A registered charge | — | 26/05/2015 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (46 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-28
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2024-10-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-27