PRA OPERATIONS PLANNING LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC451189 · ltd · incorporated 2013-05-30
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 49100
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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 (78/100)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
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
26 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover 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 | 900 | 900 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-05📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-06-02📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-05-30🏢Company incorporatedAs PRA OPERATIONS PLANNING LTD
- 2013-05-30➕PILKINGTON, Simon Charles appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 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 65. 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 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Simon Charles Pilkington Individual · British · DOB 04/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/05/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Transport & logistics · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLM DOLLAR GROUP LIMITED→ SC157532 · est 1995 | £9.10M £6.82M–£11.37M | — | — | 8400 | 31y | 81 | 67y |
| CRESTMOUNT LIMITED→ SC210376 · est 2000 | — | — | £99.3k | — | 25y | 83 | 62y |
| INVERNESS MARINA LIMITED→ SC325102 · est 2007 | — | — | £432.6k | — | 19y | 83 | 65y |
| ISLE OF SKYE FERRY COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY→ SC297537 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | 83 | 76y |
| ORD STORAGE SERVICES LTD.→ SC223112 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | 83 | 70y |
| SCOTLINE MARINE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC161473 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | 83 | 87y |
| B CORMACK & SON LIMITED→ SC236297 · est 2002 | — | — | £222.4k | — | 23y | 82 | 62y |
| CHAUFFEURS INVERNESS LIMITED→ SC350202 · est 2008 | — | — | £48.2k | — | 17y | 82 | 74y |
| EURO COACH SERVICES LIMITED→ SC133208 · est 1991 | — | — | — | 0 | 34y | 82 | 65y |
| GLENFOLD LTD.→ SC377452 · est 2010 | — | — | £752.2k | — | 16y | 82 | 62y |
| JAMES PATERSON HAULAGE LIMITED→ SC277313 · est 2004 | — | — | — | 12 | 21y | 82 | 77y |
| MACKENZIE HAULAGE (HIGHLAND) LTD.→ SC253688 · est 2003 | — | — | £51.6k | — | 22y | 82 | 58y |
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
Incorporated2013-05-30
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49100 — SIC 49100
Registered office
Claremont
22 Birnie Crescent
Elgin
IV30 6JG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-12
Last: 2026-05-29
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
PILKINGTON, Simon Charles→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2013-05-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (26 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-30