MACDONALDS INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC461877 · ltd · incorporated 2013-10-21
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£51.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (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 (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
27 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
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
82
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 £51,167

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£51k
↑ 1.2% YoY
Current Assets
£217k
↑ 8.0% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£43k£87k£130k£173k£217kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£51.2k£50.6k
Current assets£216.8k£200.7k
Cash—£200.0k
Debtors—£684
Net assets£51.2k£50.6k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-10-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2024-05-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-08-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-10-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-10-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-10-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MACDONALDS INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITED
  17. 2013-10-21
    ➕
    MACDONALD, John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MACDONALD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • 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

1 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Macdonald
Individual · British · DOB 02/1966 · age 60
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/10/2016

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2013-10-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC66290 — Other activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding

Registered office

17 Caplethill Drive
Thornly Park
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA2 7TP
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-15
Last: 2025-10-01

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

MACDONALD, John→
director · ~60y · appointed 2013-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (27 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-19