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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£134.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Strong 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 11.8y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 11.8 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £134,714

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£135k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£88k
↑ 57% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£27k£54k£81k£108k£135kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-01-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-12-06
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  12. 2016-11-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  13. 2016-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-01-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-10-06
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  16. 2015-10-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  17. 2015-06-04
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  18. 2015-06-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  19. 2014-09-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  20. 2013-07-09
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Catherine Ola resigned
    director
  21. 2012-06-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HELCAT TRAINING LIMITED
  22. 2012-06-08
    ➕
    MACKAY, Helen appointed
    director
  23. 2012-06-08
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Catherine Ola appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 candidate

Strong 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Helen Mackay
Individual · Scottish · DOB 05/1962 · age 64
75–100%
—75-100% shares12/12/2016

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 →

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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
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→
director · ~64y · appointed 2012-06-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Catherine Ola→
director · ~59y · appointed 2012-06-08 · resigned 2013-07-09
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge2 properties24/11/2016—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property01/10/2015—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property01/06/2015—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property18/09/2014—
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