ROBERT SHEARLAW LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC453670 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-02
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46170
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 74909Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 2 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
33 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Average employees1100

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-11
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-09-09
    ➕
    SHEARLAW, Alison Christine appointed
    director
  4. 2025-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-06-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2024-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-07-23
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2020-07-23
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2020-07-20
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  13. 2020-07-20
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  14. 2020-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-06-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2019-04-01
    ➖
    MENHAM, Andrew Ian resigned
    director
  17. 2019-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2013-07-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ROBERT SHEARLAW LIMITED
  20. 2013-07-02
    ➕
    SHEARLAW, Robert Cairns appointed
    director
  21. 2013-07-02
    ➕
    MENHAM, Andrew Ian appointed
    director

Owner dependency

96/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SHEARLAW" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

29/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — SHEARLAW, Alison Christine (same surname) appointed 2025-09-09. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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 Robert Cairns Shearlaw
Individual · British · DOB 01/1960 · age 66
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control07/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Andrew Ian Menhamceased 17/06/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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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——59009y8476y
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——917y8581y
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——023y8581y
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———————
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———————
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 →
🔒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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2013-07-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46170 — SIC 46170

Registered office

High Garphar
By Straiton
Maybole
Ayrshire
KA19 7QT
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-16
Last: 2025-07-02

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

SHEARLAW, Alison Christine→
director · ~36y · appointed 2025-09-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHEARLAW, Robert Cairns→
director · ~66y · appointed 2013-07-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MENHAM, Andrew Ian→
director · ~51y · appointed 2013-07-02 · resigned 2019-04-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (33 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-02
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-09-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-07-23
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-07-23