BRACO ENERGY LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC486966 · ltd · incorporated 2014-09-18
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 material changes in the last 90 days.

Last 180 days

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

🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£691.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 11.5y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 11.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
30 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £691,894
Cash YoY
+38%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£368k
↑ 38% YoY
Net Worth
£692k
↑ 52% YoY
Current Assets
£560k
↑ 21% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£138k£277k£415k£554k£692kDec 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£793.8k£561.8k
Current assets£559.9k£461.3k
Cash£368.1k£266.8k
Debtors£191.8k£194.4k
Net assets£691.9k£456.7k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-25
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  5. 2022-10-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2022-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-06
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  8. 2021-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-21
    ABERNETHY, Donna resigned
    secretary
  10. 2021-01-11
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2020-12-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Close Leasing Limited
  12. 2020-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-01-30
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  17. 2016-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2015-01-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Close Leasing Limited
  19. 2014-09-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BRACO ENERGY LTD
  20. 2014-09-18
    ABERNETHY, David Brodie appointed
    director
  21. 2014-09-18
    ABERNETHY, Donna appointed
    secretary

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
David Brodie Abernethy
Individual · British · DOB 12/1967 · age 59
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2014-09-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Braco Park Farm
Rosehearty
Fraserburgh
AB43 6LB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

ABERNETHY, David Brodie
director · ~59y · appointed 2014-09-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ABERNETHY, Donna
secretary · appointed 2014-09-18 · resigned 2021-01-21
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
Close Leasing
Close Leasing Limited
A registered charge22/12/2020
outstanding
Close Leasing
Close Leasing Limited
A registered charge08/01/2015
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (30 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-06
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2023-05-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-21
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-01
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2021-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-11