KEPTIE NEWSAGENCY (ARBROATH) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC443111 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-19
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£20.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
33 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £20,245
Net assets shrinking
Down £25,672 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£20k
↓ 56% YoY
Current Assets
£33k
↓ 43% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£11k£23k£34k£46k£57kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£20.2k£45.9k
Current assets£33.0k£57.5k
Cash—£25.8k
Debtors—£18.1k
Net assets£20.2k£45.9k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-07
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  2. 2026-02-07
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2026-02-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2026-02-01
    ➕
    BUTLER, Lana Cherelle appointed
    secretary
  5. 2026-02-01
    ➖
    BUTLER, Leonora resigned
    secretary
  6. 2025-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-02-27
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2022-02-15
    ➖
    BUTLER, James Patrick resigned
    director
  12. 2021-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-04-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2016-02-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  19. 2014-12-16
    ➖
    BUTLER, David Patrick resigned
    director
  20. 2013-02-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As KEPTIE NEWSAGENCY (ARBROATH) LIMITED
  21. 2013-02-19
    ➕
    BUTLER, James Joseph appointed
    director
  22. 2013-02-19
    ➕
    BUTLER, Leonora appointed
    secretary
  23. 2013-02-19
    ➕
    BUTLER, David Patrick appointed
    director
  24. 2013-02-19
    ➕
    BUTLER, James Patrick appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

58/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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
Mr James Joseph Butler
Individual · British · DOB 05/1985 · age 41
75–100%
—75-100% shares19/02/2017

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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SC331369 · est 2007
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——390018y8266y
GILLIES OF BROUGHTY FERRY LIMITED→
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——20077y8373y
THE PET FOOD STORE (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
SC374396 · est 2010
£474.4k
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——616y8270y
BRECHIN CASTLE CENTRE LIMITED→
SC154663 · est 1994
——£1.79M—31y8378y
A. KELLY LIMITED→
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———160043y8274y
ANDERSON BUTCHERS LIMITED→
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———150022y8268y
BAG SUPPLIES (FIBC) LTD.→
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——£195.0k—24y8277y
COLIN M SMITH LIMITED→
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———20029y8273y
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——£463.3k—19y8259y
HAYAT BROTHERS LTD→
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———750046y8266y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
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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
Incorporated2013-02-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Registered office

55 Keptie Street Keptie Street
Arbroath
DD11 3AQ
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-08
Last: 2026-02-22

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

BUTLER, Lana Cherelle→
secretary · appointed 2026-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTLER, James Joseph→
director · ~41y · appointed 2013-02-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTLER, Leonora→
secretary · appointed 2013-02-19 · resigned 2026-02-01
Resigned
BUTLER, David Patrick→
director · ~45y · appointed 2013-02-19 · resigned 2014-12-16
Resigned
BUTLER, James Patrick→
director · ~74y · appointed 2013-02-19 · resigned 2022-02-15
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (33 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-24
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2026-02-07
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-02-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-24