ROTHES PHARMA LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC538432 · ltd · incorporated 2016-06-21
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46460
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 8.0y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 8.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
24 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Average employees1000900

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 (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-04-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-06-30
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  5. 2022-06-30
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2022-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-07-16
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  8. 2021-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-07-26
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  12. 2018-07-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  13. 2018-05-16
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  14. 2018-05-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  15. 2018-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-11-13
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  17. 2016-06-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ROTHES PHARMA LIMITED
  18. 2016-06-21
    ➕
    HERBERT, Kevin Douglas appointed
    director
  19. 2016-06-21
    📄
    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.)

Group structure

Rothes Pharma Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Rothes Pharma Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
ROTHES PHARMA LIMITED
This company · SC538432

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Rothes Pharma Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control26/06/2021
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Kevin Douglas Herbertceased 26/06/2021· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · AB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
JOHN DAVIDSON (PIPES) LIMITED→
SC050397 · est 1972
£15.21M
£11.41M–£19.01M
£79.83M—2500054y8361y
QUALITY FOOD PRODUCTS (ABERDEEN) LIMITED→
SC046323 · est 1969
£7.30M
£5.48M–£9.13M
——6757y8359y
S&JD ROBERTSON NORTH AIR LIMITED→
SC051614 · est 1972
£5.85M
£4.39M–£7.31M
——3510053y8359y
KEITH BUILDERS MERCHANTS LIMITED→
SC217157 · est 2001
£155.6k
£116.7k–£194.6k
——3925y8458y
APEX TUBULARS LIMITED→
SC331461 · est 2007
———60018y8363y
GPH BUILDERS MERCHANTS LIMITED→
SC378341 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y8371y
SEAFOOD TRADERS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→
SC223363 · est 2001
———900024y8378y
ABERDEEN OFFICE SUPPLIES LIMITED→
SC238550 · est 2002
——£59.2k—23y8267y
CABER COFFEE LIMITED→
SC329912 · est 2007
——£593.6k—18y8283y
CRAIGIEVAR TIMBER LIMITED→
SC357720 · est 2009
——£227.4k—17y8274y
THE SPEYSIDE WHISKY SHOP LIMITED→
SC715550 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
VACATIONS, LOGISTICS, CRAFTS AND MORE LTD→
SC867771 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
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
Incorporated2016-06-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46460 — SIC 46460

Registered office

26-28 High Street Rothes
Aberlour
AB38 7AU
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-04
Last: 2025-06-20

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

HERBERT, Kevin Douglas→
director · ~47y · appointed 2016-06-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property25/07/2018—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—11/05/2018—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (24 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-22
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2022-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-30
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-12
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2021-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-02