SB OPHTHALMIC LENS TECHNOLOGIES UK LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC537860 · ltd · incorporated 2016-06-14

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 Aug 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

71/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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 (58/100).

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

21 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

71/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

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	2024-08-31	2023-08-31

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

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (14 events)Click to expand

2025-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-03-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-03-08
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2017-06-29
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2017-06-27
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2016-06-14
🏢
Company incorporated
As SB OPHTHALMIC LENS TECHNOLOGIES UK LIMITED
2016-06-14
➕
MCNEILLIE, Hugh Kennedy appointed
director
2016-06-14
📄
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

80/100

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.
+No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100

Moderate signal

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

SIGNALS

primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Hugh Kennedy Mcneillie Individual · British · DOB 01/1973 · age 53	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	14/06/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DURACARE LIMITED→ SC550705 · est 2016	£8.14M £6.11M–£10.18M	—	—	5900	9y	84	76y
NOBEL NC EUROPE LIMITED→ SC355464 · est 2009	£5.56M £4.17M–£6.95M	—	—	9	17y	85	81y
NOBEL TRADING LIMITED→ SC245627 · est 2003	£4.40M £3.30M–£5.50M	—	—	0	23y	85	81y
COASTLINE ADHESIVE TAPES LIMITED→ SC163345 · est 1996	—	—	£1.01M	—	30y	83	65y
GCBW CATRINE LTD→ SC022403 · est 1943 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	82y	83	74y
INTER DEPENDENT PURCHASING LIMITED→ SC290783 · est 2005	—	—	£165.9k	—	20y	83	63y
A. DEWAR RATTRAY LIMITED→ SC021038 · est 1939	—	—	£1.02M	—	86y	82	87y
CUNNINGHAM TRUCK PARTS LIMITED→ SC285268 · est 2005	—	—	£1.01M	—	20y	82	58y
IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC137822 · est 1992	—	—	£94.2k	—	34y	82	65y
JOHN DAWSON BUTCHERS LIMITED→ SC245500 · est 2003	—	—	—	1600	23y	82	58y
JOHN H MCNAE LTD.→ SC294906 · est 2005	—	—	—	1600	20y	82	78y
SMS OIL & GAS LIMITED→ SC263131 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—

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

Incorporated2016-06-14

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade

Registered office

12 Stirling Crescent

Galston

Ayrshire

KA4 8NT

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-05-31

Last made up to: 2024-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-06-27

Last: 2025-06-13

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

MCNEILLIE, Hugh Kennedy→

director · ~53y · appointed 2016-06-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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