H J TROTTER LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC571362 · ltd · incorporated 2017-07-17
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (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 (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
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
19 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-31

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (13 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-20
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-09-14
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  11. 2017-07-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As H J TROTTER LIMITED
  12. 2017-07-17
    ➕
    TROTTER, Henry appointed
    director
  13. 2017-07-17
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "TROTTER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
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.

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
Mr Henry Trotter
Individual · British · DOB 06/1967 · age 59
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control17/07/2017

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 →
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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2017-07-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road

Registered office

Redbanks
Tankerness
Orkney
KW17 2QS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-18
Last: 2025-06-04

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

TROTTER, Henry→
director · ~59y · appointed 2017-07-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (19 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-05
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-19