FERRYFIELD GARAGE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC473535 · ltd · incorporated 2014-03-26

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.

Why now

Window closing · high confidence

Getting harder to buy — profile has hardened into "well run hard buy" recently.

· Lifecycle stage: zombie → mature
· Investment thesis: zombie_hold → well_run_hard_buy
· Deal-killer verdict: workable → clean

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

What changed my view

Last 30 days

Picture improved over the last 30 days — 2 positive signals vs 0 negative.

↑Lifecycle stage: zombie → mature
·Investment thesis: zombie_hold → well_run_hard_buy
↑Deal-killer verdict: workable → clean

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45112

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

45200SIC 45200

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile

address, 2 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

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

26 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	400	400

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

filing

• 1 officers

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 officers

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 officers
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2026-07-05
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-07-03
➕
MCLAUGHLIN, Elsie Theresa appointed
director
2025-11-15
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-08-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-12-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-29
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-04-05
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-03-26
🏢
Company incorporated
As FERRYFIELD GARAGE LIMITED
2014-03-26
➕
MCLAUGHLIN, James appointed
secretary
2014-03-26
➕
MCLAUGHLIN, James appointed
director

Owner dependency

81/100

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 age: Director aged approximately 71 — 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 71 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr James Mclaughlin Individual · British · DOB 02/1955 · age 71	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

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

Incorporated2014-03-26

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112

Registered office

Unit 6 North Street

Alexandria

Dunbartonshire

G83 0EA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-09

Last: 2026-03-26

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

MCLAUGHLIN, James→

secretary · appointed 2014-03-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCLAUGHLIN, Elsie Theresa→

director · ~64y · appointed 2026-07-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCLAUGHLIN, James→

director · ~71y · appointed 2014-03-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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

Recent filings (26 total)

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2026-07-05

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-03-27

capital-allotment-shares

capital · SH01

2025-11-15