STEP UP SKILLS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC476414 · ltd · incorporated 2014-04-29
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£4.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Educational support services
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 0.1y

50/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Newest facility, 0.1 years old — likely still in initial term.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 5 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
39 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £4,006
Cash YoY
+118%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£11k
↑ 118% YoY
Net Worth
£4k
↑ 182% YoY
Current Assets
£21k
↑ 65% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£5k£195£5k£10k£15k£21kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£620.1k£616.4k
Current assets£20.6k£12.5k
Cash£10.7k£4.9k
Debtors£9.9k£7.6k
Net assets£4.0k£-4.9k

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
6
filings
  • • 3 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 mortgage
Last 90 days
7
filings
  • • 3 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 2 mortgage
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
7
filings
  • • 3 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 2 mortgage
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-02
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  2. 2026-04-02
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  3. 2026-04-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2026-04-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2026-04-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2026-04-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  7. 2026-03-31
    ➖
    MACVICAR, Katrina resigned
    director
  8. 2026-03-20
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  9. 2026-03-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  10. 2025-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2024-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2023-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2022-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-09-28
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  16. 2020-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2018-01-23
    ➕
    DEVLIN, Leigh appointed
    director
  21. 2015-01-22
    ➖
    MCFARLANE, Kenneth resigned
    director
  22. 2015-01-22
    ➖
    MCFARLANE, Maxine resigned
    director
  23. 2014-04-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As STEP UP SKILLS LIMITED
  24. 2014-04-29
    ➕
    DEVLIN, Craig appointed
    director
  25. 2014-04-29
    ➕
    MACVICAR, Katrina appointed
    director
  26. 2014-04-29
    ➕
    MCFARLANE, Kenneth appointed
    director
  27. 2014-04-29
    ➕
    MCFARLANE, Maxine appointed
    director

Owner dependency

74/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

51/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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.)

Group structure

Step Up Support (Scotland) Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Step Up Support (Scotland) Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
STEP UP SKILLS LIMITED
This company · SC476414

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Step Up Support (Scotland) Ltd
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/07/2021
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mrs Katrina Macvicarceased 01/07/2021· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Craig Devlinceased 01/07/2021· 25-50% shares

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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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
Incorporated2014-04-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85600 — Educational support services

Registered office

2 Melville Street
Falkirk
FK1 1HZ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-04
Last: 2026-03-21

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

DEVLIN, Craig→
director · ~60y · appointed 2014-04-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DEVLIN, Leigh→
director · ~55y · appointed 2018-01-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACVICAR, Katrina→
director · ~45y · appointed 2014-04-29 · resigned 2026-03-31
Resigned
MCFARLANE, Kenneth→
director · ~67y · appointed 2014-04-29 · resigned 2015-01-22
Resigned
MCFARLANE, Maxine→
director · ~59y · appointed 2014-04-29 · resigned 2015-01-22
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property01/04/2026—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property06/03/2026—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (39 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2026-04-02
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-04-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-01
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-04-01
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-21