A. FREW (HAULAGE CONTRACTORS AND COAL MERCHANTS) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC041122 · ltd · incorporated 1964-10-08
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
£93.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 49410Freight transport by road
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. 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.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
92 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £93,720
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,749 YoY
Cash YoY
-11%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£45k
↓ 11% YoY
Net Worth
£94k
↓ 6.7% YoY
Current Assets
£45k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-10-31 | 2024-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £108.2k | £115.6k |
| Current assets | £45.2k | — |
| Cash | £45.2k | £50.6k |
| Debtors | £31 | — |
| Net assets | £93.7k | £100.5k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-20➕FREW, Alain appointeddirector
- 2024-02-20📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-25📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-03-25📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2021-09-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-07-17➖FREW, Angus resignedsecretary
- 2021-07-17➖FREW, Angus resigneddirector
- 2021-05-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2000-11-25➖FREW, Alexander Reid resignedsecretary
- 2000-11-25➕FREW, Angus appointedsecretary
- 2000-11-25➖FREW, Alexander Reid resigneddirector
- 1964-10-08🏢Company incorporatedAs A. FREW (HAULAGE CONTRACTORS AND COAL MERCHANTS) LIMITED
Owner dependency
96/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FREW" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
16/100
No succession signalNo meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.
SIGNALS
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — FREW, Alain (same surname) appointed 2024-02-20. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
cleanNo 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 Thomas Frew Individual · British · DOB 06/1957 · age 69 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/12/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · KA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A H MACKIE & CO LTD→ SC554152 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A.M. CHRISTIE LIMITED→ SC262535 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ABANDONED STORAGE LOCKERS LIMITED→ SC670878 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABBEYTON GROUP LTD→ SC511993 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ABC BED AND FURNITURE WAREHOUSE LTD→ SC609222 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABM HARDWARE LIMITED→ SC760901 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADM GARDEN BUILDINGS LTD→ SC849445 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADSC ( ARRAN) LIMITED→ SC705726 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ALLUNEEDUK LTD→ SC815710 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMERICAN CANDY AYR LTD→ SC861254 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMERICAN GROCERIES LTD→ SC871789 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMORE EXPRESS (RENFREW) LIMITED→ SC690423 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1964-10-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Registered office
79 Sinclair Street
Stevenston
KA20 4AL
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-30
Last: 2026-03-16
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
Active
FREW, Alexander Reid→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2000-11-25
FREW, Angus→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2000-11-25 · resigned 2021-07-17
FREW, Alexander Reid→
Resigneddirector · resigned 2000-11-25
FREW, Angus→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · resigned 2021-07-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (92 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-08
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-25
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-09-06