HIGHLAND CONTRACTING SERVICES LTD
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 (76/100)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 · accounting standard not declaredKey financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £159.9k | £130.5k |
| Current assets | £139.6k | £151.1k |
| Cash | £103.9k | £138.6k |
| Debtors | £35.7k | £12.5k |
| Net assets | £143.2k | £118.2k |
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 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (13 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-05📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2019-06-04📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2018-03-21🏢Company incorporatedAs HIGHLAND CONTRACTING SERVICES LTD
- 2018-03-21➕PATIENCE, Jane appointedsecretary
- 2018-03-21➕PATIENCE, John appointeddirector
- 2018-03-21📄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 59 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 8 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.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Patience Individual · British · DOB 01/1967 · age 59 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 21/03/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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)
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