MSA NEWSAGENTS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC453159 · ltd · incorporated 2013-06-26
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£39.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). 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
2 live charges · oldest 9.3y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
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
31 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 £39,281
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£39k
↑ 9.0% YoY
Current Assets
£68k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £40.9k | £53.6k |
| Current assets | £67.8k | £60.3k |
| Net assets | £39.3k | £36.0k |
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-16📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-09-13📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2022-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-08📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-06-25📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2018-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-15📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-03-03🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2017-01-30📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-01-26🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2013-06-26🏢Company incorporatedAs MSA NEWSAGENTS LIMITED
- 2013-06-26➕ASLAM, Mohammed Saleem 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 69 — 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 69. 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 Mohammed Saleem Aslam Individual · British · DOB 04/1957 · age 69 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/12/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · G postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PATRAS INVESTMENTS LTD→ SC698881 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PAULS FISH SHED LTD→ SC867486 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PAY YOUR WAY CARPETS LIMITED→ SC852229 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PEDLAR LTD→ SC724245 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PETER STORE LTD→ SC630634 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| PHS TRADING LTD→ SC871515 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PI DRUM SHOP LIMITED→ SC595912 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| PIG BEAR PLAY WEAR LTD→ SC850508 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PILLAR AND SABLE LTD→ SC854853 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PINK POODLE LIMITED→ SC237375 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| PLECOMM LTD→ SC868602 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PLUSH LINEN LTD→ SC810222 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-06-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Registered office
7-9 Lovat Place
Rutherglen
Glasgow
G73 5HS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-05
Last: 2025-06-21
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
ASLAM, Mohammed Saleem→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-06-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 03/03/2017 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 26/01/2017 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (31 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-12
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-15
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-18