HELCAT TRAINING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC425781 · ltd · incorporated 2012-06-08
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 May 2025
Net worth
£134.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · oldest 11.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.6 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.
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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
36 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £134,714
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£135k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£88k
↑ 57% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £144.8k | £313.9k |
| Current assets | £87.9k | £56.0k |
| Cash | — | £4.5k |
| Net assets | £134.7k | £120.6k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-06📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2016-11-24🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2016-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-06📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2015-10-01🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2015-06-04📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2015-06-01🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2014-09-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2013-07-09➖SUTHERLAND, Catherine Ola resigneddirector
- 2012-06-08🏢Company incorporatedAs HELCAT TRAINING LIMITED
- 2012-06-08➕MACKAY, Helen appointeddirector
- 2012-06-08➕SUTHERLAND, Catherine Ola appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
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 64. 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Helen Mackay Individual · Scottish · DOB 05/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 12/12/2016 |
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 · Education & training · KW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLOBAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS LIMITED→ SC372616 · est 2010 | — | — | — | 100 | 16y | 80 | 63y |
| LATHERON, LYBSTER AND CLYTH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY→ SC304412 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | 80 | 82y |
| CREATIVITY IN CARE CIC→ SC438310 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | 79 | 67y |
| KRISTIN LINKLATER VOICE CENTRE LIMITED→ SC421964 · est 2012 | — | — | — | 0 | 14y | 79 | 84y |
| ARMADALE VILLAGE HALL LTD→ SC635874 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | 77 | 65y |
| LYBSTER & TANNACH→ SC536591 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | 77 | 73y |
| BOYD TRAINING LIMITED→ SC685561 · est 2021 | — | — | — | 0 | 5y | 71 | 33y |
| HOT AND STEAMY LTD→ SC744053 · est 2022 | — | — | £5.3k | — | 3y | 71 | 31y |
| KMI COACHING LTD→ SC541937 · est 2016 | — | — | £25 | — | 9y | 71 | 53y |
| GO WESTRAY CIC→ SC533006 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| MACKAY GOLF LTD→ SC830336 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MHOR COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY→ SC550003 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-06-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.
Registered office
Helcat House
4a Ormlie Industrial Estate
Thurso
Caithness
KW14 7QU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-09
Last: 2025-11-25
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
MACKAY, Helen→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2012-06-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SUTHERLAND, Catherine Ola→
Resigneddirector · ~59y · appointed 2012-06-08 · resigned 2013-07-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
4
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 2 properties | 24/11/2016 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 01/10/2015 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 01/06/2015 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 18/09/2014 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (36 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-17