S HORSBURGH ENGINEERING LTD
Opportunity 73/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £15.6k | £38.4k |
| Current assets | £2.0k | £34.6k |
| Net assets | £15.6k | £15.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-12-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-11-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-17📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-09📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-01-28🏢Company incorporatedAs S HORSBURGH ENGINEERING LTD
- 2014-01-28➕HORSBURGH, Shaun appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "HORSBURGH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Shaun Horsburgh Individual · British · DOB 06/1989 · age 37 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence · trust interest | 15/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAEL FORCE GROUP LIMITED→ SC229244 · est 2002 | £23.82M £18.53M–£29.11M | — | — | 1700 | 24y | 83 | 62y |
| HENDRY HYDRAULICS LIMITED→ SC059511 · est 1976 | £331.6k £257.9k–£405.3k | — | — | 91 | 50y | 87 | 75y |
| ANTA SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC156285 · est 1995 | — | — | — | 2200 | 31y | 83 | 69y |
| JAMES JOHNSTON & CO. OF ELGIN LIMITED→ SC022553 · est 1943 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 82y | 83 | 70y |
| MUIRTON CONTROL & AUTOMATION LTD→ SC395862 · est 2011 | — | — | £418.0k | — | 15y | 83 | 58y |
| SPEYPROJECTS LTD→ SC449496 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| STEPHEN LESLIE LIMITED→ SC626001 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| THE GARDEN DEN LTD→ SC700800 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| THE PODCAST HOST LTD.→ SC515149 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| THE PRINT REGISTER LIMITED→ SC174811 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| THISTLE ENGINEERING LTD.→ SC356256 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| TOMATIN FIREWOOD LTD→ SC723729 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.