COPPIES BAR LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC474701 · ltd · incorporated 2014-04-08
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£6.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Public houses and bars
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). 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
26 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £6,165
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£6k
↑ 1791% YoY
Current Assets
£13k
↓ 51% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £6.2k | £326 |
| Current assets | £13.0k | £26.5k |
| Net assets | £6.2k | £326 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
2
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-26📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-04-08🏢Company incorporatedAs COPPIES BAR LTD
- 2014-04-08➕WATSON, John George Aitken appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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
cleanNo 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 John George Aitken Watson Individual · British · DOB 05/1957 · age 69 | 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.
Similar companies
Active · Hospitality · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOOD GET GO LIMITED→ SC649191 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| FOODLOVERS MARKET LTD.→ SC516888 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| FOODSAVERS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC868278 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FORTH VALLEY INNS LTD→ SC658365 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| FORTUNE IN LTD→ SC875353 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FRONT AND CENTRE BARS LIMITED→ SC800037 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| FRUITS IN THE CITY LIMITED→ SC441319 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| FULBECK-HOUSE LIMITED→ SC413381 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| FUN TEA SOUTH LIMITED→ SC700049 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| FUZE FOOD LTD→ SC727920 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| GALLEON PORTOBELLO LIMITED→ SC825325 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| GANARIN LTD.→ SC225078 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2014-04-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56302 — Public houses and bars
Registered office
87a South Street
Armadale
Bathgate
West Lothian
EH48 3EU
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-22
Last: 2026-04-08
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
WATSON, John George Aitken→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2014-04-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (26 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-25