VINCENT BROWN LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC424516 · ltd · incorporated 2012-05-22
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£236.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Solicitors
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). 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).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £236,295
Cash YoY
+27%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£302k
↑ 27% YoY
Net Worth
£236k
↑ 22% YoY
Current Assets
£322k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £236.3k | £194.2k |
| Current assets | £321.8k | £280.4k |
| Cash | £301.7k | £237.2k |
| Debtors | £20.1k | £43.2k |
| Net assets | £236.3k | £194.2k |
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 (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-26📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-01📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-07-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-06-02📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-06-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-05-22🏢Company incorporatedAs VINCENT BROWN LTD
- 2012-05-22➕BROWN, Vincent 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BROWN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
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 67. 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 14 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Vincent Brown Individual · British · DOB 02/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Shirley Elizabeth Brown Individual · British · DOB 03/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWEENEY BOOKKEEPING LTD→ SC843439 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| T.S.R. ROADSWEEPER HIRE LTD→ SC621313 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| THE ASHTON AGENCY LTD→ SC824314 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| THE BUTE VET LTD→ SC819444 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| THREESIXTY ARCHITECTURE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC642264 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| TOTAL PAYROLL EXPERTS LTD.→ SC834346 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| TULLIALLAN CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC837666 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| UTILITIES4BUSINESS LIMITED→ SC565567 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| VICTORIAS HUB LIMITED→ SC714475 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| VIKING ISLE LTD→ SC864968 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| WAGNER LANDSCAPE CONSULTANTS LTD→ SC656029 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| WANDERINGICONS LTD→ SC663382 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-05-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors
Registered office
9 Garnie Lane
Erskine
Renfrewshire
PA8 7BQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-05
Last: 2025-05-22
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
BROWN, Vincent→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2012-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-12-03