ORBITAL SHAREHOLDING LTD
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 14.7y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 14.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 0 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-21✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2024-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-11-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-05-28➕A.J.B. SCHOLES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2012-05-27➖A.J.B. SCHOLES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2011-10-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bnp Paribas Leasing Solutions N.V.
- 2011-05-27🏢Company incorporatedAs ORBITAL SHAREHOLDING LTD
- 2011-05-27➕JOHNSTON, Barry, Dr appointeddirector
- 2011-05-27➕A.J.B. SCHOLES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +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.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr Barry Johnston Individual · British · DOB 09/1977 · age 49 | 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.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Transport & logistics · KW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCADIE & REEVE LIMITED→ SC320832 · est 2007 | — | — | — | — | 19y | 83 | 60y |
| ORKNEY MARINAS LIMITED→ SC215601 · est 2001 | — | — | — | 4 | 25y | 81 | 80y |
| CAITHNESS SEACOAST LTD→ SC291271 · est 2005 | — | — | £25.4k | — | 20y | 80 | 67y |
| JOHN O'GROATS FERRIES LIMITED→ SC144259 · est 1993 | — | — | £389.4k | — | 33y | 80 | 88y |
| PENTLAND FERRIES→ SC171283 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | 80 | 64y |
| MEIKLEJOHNS TAXIS LIMITED→ SC439983 · est 2013 | — | — | £241.8k | — | 13y | 79 | 64y |
| ORKNEY FERRIES LIMITED→ SC036770 · est 1961 | — | — | £8.88M | — | 64y | 79 | 73y |
| AAM HAULAGE LTD→ SC517958 · est 2015 | — | — | — | 100 | 10y | 78 | 66y |
| LITTLEJOHN REMOVALS LIMITED→ SC541126 · est 2016 | — | — | £49.5k | — | 9y | 78 | 62y |
| RENDALL HAULAGE SERVICES LTD→ SC531106 · est 2016 | — | — | — | 0 | 10y | 78 | 61y |
| ROBERT CRAIGIE LTD→ SC433995 · est 2012 | — | — | — | 100 | 13y | 78 | 61y |
| JOHN JOLLY (1978) LIMITED→ SC065701 · est 1978 | — | — | £969.8k | — | 47y | 77 | 48y |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Bnp Paribas Leasing Solutions N.V. | Tripartite agreement | 1 property | 13/10/2011 | — |