HAMILTON MOTOR ENGINEERING LTD

🌳Matureactive
SC464664 · ltd · incorporated 2013-11-27
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 Nov 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
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: 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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
36 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£0Nov 2024Nov 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-11-302024-11-30
Average employees10001100

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. 2026-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-05
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2024-12-05
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2024-12-05
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2024-12-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2024-07-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-12-04
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  9. 2023-12-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2023-07-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2023-07-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2023-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2022-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-11-09
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  15. 2021-11-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2021-10-21
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Colin appointed
    director
  17. 2021-08-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-06-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  19. 2020-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2013-11-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HAMILTON MOTOR ENGINEERING LTD
  21. 2013-11-27
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Mary Helen 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
  • +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 "HAMILTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

39/100
Weak signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — HAMILTON, Colin (same surname) appointed 2021-10-21. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 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 12 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Colin Hamilton
Individual · British · DOB 06/1981 · age 45
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting27/11/2023
Mrs Mary Helen Hamilton
Individual · British · DOB 02/1952 · age 74
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting01/07/2016

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated2013-11-27
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Unit 4a Fountain Way
Blackparks Industrial Estate
Stranraer
DG9 7UD
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-08-31
Last made up to: 2025-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-13
Last: 2025-10-30

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

HAMILTON, Colin→
director · ~45y · appointed 2021-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HAMILTON, Mary Helen→
director · ~74y · appointed 2013-11-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (36 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-12-05
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-12-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-12-05
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-04
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-12-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-12-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-07-18
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-17