BURNSIDE LEGAL SERVICES (ABERDEEN) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC455599 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-30

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 Jul 2025

Net worth

£10.2k

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Solicitors

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

25 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £10,239

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£10k

↑ 269% YoY

Current Assets

£14k

↑ 126% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-07-31	2024-07-31
Total assets	£11.5k	£3.4k
Current assets	£13.8k	£6.1k
Net assets	£10.2k	£2.8k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2025-12-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-04-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-07-30
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-04-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-08-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2013-07-30
🏢
Company incorporated
As BURNSIDE LEGAL SERVICES (ABERDEEN) LIMITED
2013-07-30
➕
BURNSIDE, Gillian Kennedy appointed
secretary
2013-07-30
➕
BURNSIDE, David Melville appointed
director
2013-07-30
➕
BURNSIDE, Gillian Kennedy appointed
director
2013-07-30
📄
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC

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 "BURNSIDE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David Melville Burnside Individual · British · DOB 03/1943 · age 83	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016
Ms Gillian Kennedy Burnside Individual · British · DOB 10/1955 · age 71	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · AB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
C R C SERVICES SCOTLAND LTD→ SC791666 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
C.W.E. ENGINEERING LTD→ SC796868 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
CORESTRUCT CONSULT LIMITED→ SC383899 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—
CORROSION ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC201702 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	26y	—	—
COSTAIN UPSTREAM LIMITED→ SC336371 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
CRAIGIAN LIMITED→ SC161694 · est 1995 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	30y	—	—
CSM INSPECTIONS LTD→ SC857333 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
CTA (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC299733 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
CUAN ENERGY LTD→ SC880389 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
CUBISMO LTD→ SC646969 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
CULINARY ABILITY AWARDS C.I.C.→ SC505197 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
CULTIVATE CULTURE LTD→ SC858660 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2013-07-30

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors

Registered office

31 Albert Terrace

Aberdeen

AB10 1XY

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-13

Last: 2025-07-30

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

BURNSIDE, Gillian Kennedy→

secretary · appointed 2013-07-30

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BURNSIDE, David Melville→

director · ~83y · appointed 2013-07-30

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BURNSIDE, Gillian Kennedy→

director · ~71y · appointed 2013-07-30

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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

Recent filings (25 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-12-15

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-08-06

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-02-25

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-09-03

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-07-30