JOHN CARMICHAEL & SON LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC481518 · ltd · incorporated 2014-07-04

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

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 Jun 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Painting

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 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 · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-06-30	2024-06-30
Average employees	2	200

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand

2026-03-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-09-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2017-07-01
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2017-06-13
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2016-05-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-08-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-07-23
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2014-07-04
🏢
Company incorporated
As JOHN CARMICHAEL & SON LTD
2014-07-04
➕
CARMICHAEL, John Herriot 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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CARMICHAEL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — 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

70/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 John Herriot Carmichael Individual · Scottish · DOB 12/1961 · age 65	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Construction · DD postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
KILMAC LTD→ SC458759 · est 2013	£6.45M £4.61M–£8.30M	—	—	16000	12y	84	58y
GUILD HOMES (TAYSIDE) LTD.→ SC170248 · est 1996	£2.17M £1.55M–£2.79M	—	—	34	29y	84	63y
D J LAING (CONTRACTS) LIMITED→ SC087805 · est 1984	£1.52M £1.08M–£1.95M	—	—	57	42y	87	79y
ANGUS DECORATING COMPANY LIMITED→ SC056282 · est 1974	£1.48M £1.06M–£1.90M	—	—	65	51y	83	63y
ROCKNOWE INTERIORS LIMITED→ SC489276 · est 2014	£634.1k £452.9k–£815.3k	—	—	1100	11y	85	75y
FLAGSHIP PROPERTY CARE LIMITED→ SC560189 · est 2017	£34.1k £24.4k–£43.9k	—	—	0	9y	83	83y
DOUBLE KWIK SCAFFOLDING LIMITED→ SC145539 · est 1993	—	—	—	—	32y	83	65y
ISLAND LEISURE LIMITED→ SC119182 · est 1989	—	—	—	23	36y	83	64y
JACKSON STEEL STRUCTURES LIMITED→ SC047786 · est 1970	—	—	£1.45M	—	55y	83	60y
JAMES LAMMOND LIMITED→ SC258479 · est 2003	—	—	—	3800	22y	83	62y
M & M PLUMBING & HEATING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC333448 · est 2007	—	—	—	2300	18y	83	63y
MARTIN ALAN CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC227220 · est 2002	—	—	—	53	24y	83	69y

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

Incorporated2014-07-04

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC43341 — Painting

Registered office

1 Craig Road

Ferryden

Montrose

Angus

DD10 9RH

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-03-31

Last made up to: 2025-06-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-18

Last: 2025-07-04

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

CARMICHAEL, John Herriot→

director · ~65y · appointed 2014-07-04

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)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-03-19

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-07-17

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-03-24

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-11-14

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-07-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-09-13

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-07-10

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-07-08

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2022-06-23

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-07-08

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2021-06-30

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2020-07-06

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2020-03-30

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2019-11-07

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2019-07-04