ST ANDREWS INNOVATION LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC391905 · ltd · incorporated 2011-01-20

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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 75). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: 1 insolvency-related filing on record. Filings relating to insolvency, liquidation, or administration exist in the company's history. Review before proceeding. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (60/100)

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

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

9 officers (6 active, 9 linked, 7 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

18 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

68 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

76/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Some moderate concerns — review flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand

2026-04-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2025-07-22
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-01-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
➕
GETTINBY, Michael John appointed
secretary
2024-05-31
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-04-16
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-04-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-04-08
➖
GILLESPIE MACANDREW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2023-02-27
✏️
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2023-02-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2022-12-19
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-12-06
➕
MCKENZIE, Nicola Jane appointed
director
2022-11-18
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-11-05
➖
JONES, Mervyn David resigned
director
2022-07-29
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-07-29
📄
capital-statement-capital-company-with-date-currency-figure
capital · SH19
2022-07-29
⚠️
legacy
insolvency · CAP-SS
2022-07-29
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-07-22
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-11-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-08-17
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-08-17
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-07-16
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-06-01
📄
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AAMD
2019-01-17
➕
GLYNN, Martin John Gardner appointed
director
2019-01-17
➕
SIMPSON, Wallace Brett appointed
director
2019-01-17
➕
JONES, Mervyn David appointed
director
2013-04-19
➖
MUNDIE, Douglas Stewart resigned
director
2011-02-24
➕
GILLESPIE MACANDREW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2011-01-20
🏢
Company incorporated
As ST ANDREWS INNOVATION LIMITED
2011-01-20
➕
MILLICAN, Keith appointed
director
2011-01-20
➕
WATSON, Derek Alexander appointed
director
2011-01-20
➕
MUNDIE, Douglas Stewart appointed
director

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

73/100

Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 high ·

1 insolvency-related filing on record

high

Filings relating to insolvency, liquidation, or administration exist in the company's history. Review before proceeding.

Evidence: 2022-07-29: legacy

Group structure

University Of St Andrews is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

University Of St Andrews

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control

ultimate parent

⬇

ST ANDREWS INNOVATION LIMITED

This company · SC391905

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
University Of St Andrews Corporate entity	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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

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.

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🔒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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2011-01-20

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC72190 — Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Registered office

Walter Bower House Main Street

Guardbridge

St. Andrews

KY16 0US

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-03

Last: 2026-01-20