CES TRANSPORT LTD
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
1 live charge · oldest 6.0y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 6.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £10.0k | — |
| Current assets | £383.6k | — |
| Debtors | £253.6k | — |
| Net assets | £10.0k | — |
| Average employees | — | 700 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (15 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-15📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-05-11🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
- 2019-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-27🏢Company incorporatedAs CES TRANSPORT LTD
- 2016-04-27➕STOBIE, Elaine appointedsecretary
- 2016-04-27➕STOBIE, Colin appointeddirector
- 2016-04-27📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — 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
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Colin Stobie Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 27/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111) | A registered charge | — | 11/05/2020 | — |