J. WATSON SCOTT & CO LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC526668 · ltd · incorporated 2016-02-11
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£133.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Solicitors
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong 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 2.0y
10/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Newest facility, 2.0 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
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
25 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £133,493
Net assets shrinking
Down £19,322 YoY
Cash YoY
+16%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£726k
↑ 16% YoY
Net Worth
£133k
↓ 13% YoY
Current Assets
£750k
↑ 16% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £133.6k | £153.0k |
| Current assets | £750.0k | £647.1k |
| Cash | £725.5k | £623.7k |
| Debtors | £19.4k | £18.4k |
| Net assets | £133.5k | £152.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-09📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-09-03🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2024-06-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-04-30📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-04-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2023-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-25📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2017-11-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-02-11🏢Company incorporatedAs J. WATSON SCOTT & CO LTD
- 2016-02-11➕HARVIE, Alison Jane appointeddirector
- 2016-02-11📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
60/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. 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
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Alison Jane Harvie Individual · British · DOB 02/1968 · age 58 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 01/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISOCON ENERGY LTD→ SC444607 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| JGS ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED→ SC432888 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| L & R MCIVOR LIMITED→ SC755110 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| L SWEENEY LTD.→ SC322262 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| LANARKSHIRE ACCIDENT LAW (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC724441 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| LETS PAR-TEE SCOTLAND LTD→ SC794343 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| LIMBIC REFLEXOLOGY RESEARCH CIC→ SC831312 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MCINTOSH COMMERCIAL LTD→ SC787780 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| MCINTOSH LTD→ SC747566 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| MCKELVIE HOLDINGS LTD→ SC441127 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| MCL TECHNICAL SERVICES (UK) LTD.→ SC222918 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| MCLACHLAN INVESTMENT GROUP LTD→ SC644948 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-02-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors
Registered office
Mcadam House
1 Cadzow Lane
Hamilton
ML3 6AY
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-19
Last: 2026-02-05
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
HARVIE, Alison Jane→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2016-02-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 03/09/2024 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 18/04/2024 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (25 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-14
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-09-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-07
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-22