MCKINLAY & BLAIR LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC052147 · ltd · incorporated 1973-01-08
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 43.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33140
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · oldest 43.1y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 43.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 20/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (59/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
15 officers (4 active, 15 linked, 9 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
116 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

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 (45 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-07-17
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  10. 2018-07-17
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2018-07-16
    ➕
    MCELHINNEY, Jacqueline appointed
    secretary
  12. 2018-07-16
    ➕
    MCELHINNEY, Jacqueline appointed
    director
  13. 2017-08-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-08-10
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  15. 2017-08-10
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  16. 2017-08-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  17. 2017-07-31
    ➕
    LITHGOW, James Frank appointed
    director
  18. 2017-07-31
    ➖
    WISHART, Alastair William Chisholm resigned
    secretary
  19. 2017-07-31
    ➖
    WISHART, Alastair William Chisholm resigned
    director
  20. 2016-05-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  21. 2016-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2014-03-31
    ➖
    REID, Alasdair Richmond resigned
    secretary
  23. 2014-03-31
    ➕
    WISHART, Alastair William Chisholm appointed
    secretary
  24. 2010-12-20
    ➖
    CURRIE, Hugh Mckechnie resigned
    director
  25. 2007-07-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  26. 2006-10-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  27. 2003-02-03
    ➕
    REID, Alasdair Richmond appointed
    secretary
  28. 2003-01-31
    ➖
    BAIRD, John resigned
    secretary
  29. 2002-10-04
    ➖
    WILKINSON, David resigned
    director
  30. 2002-06-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  31. 1997-06-25
    ➕
    MCCALLUM, Raymond appointed
    director
  32. 1994-09-12
    ➖
    PARKER, Cameron Holdsworth resigned
    director
  33. 1993-11-01
    ➕
    BAIRD, John appointed
    secretary
  34. 1993-11-01
    ➕
    WISHART, Alastair William Chisholm appointed
    director
  35. 1993-10-31
    ➖
    SHEARER, Alexander Craig resigned
    secretary
  36. 1993-10-31
    ➖
    LEMOND, Brian Hugh resigned
    director
  37. 1993-07-30
    ➖
    BROADFOOT, Archibald Simpson resigned
    secretary
  38. 1993-07-30
    ➕
    SHEARER, Alexander Craig appointed
    secretary
  39. 1993-07-30
    ➖
    BROADFOOT, Archibald Simpson resigned
    director
  40. 1992-03-26
    ➕
    CURRIE, Hugh Mckechnie appointed
    director
  41. 1989-05-26
    ➕
    LEMOND, Brian Hugh appointed
    director
  42. 1986-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  43. 1983-11-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  44. 1983-03-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  45. 1973-01-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MCKINLAY & BLAIR LIMITED

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 53 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Sir James Frank Lithgow
Individual · British · DOB 06/1970 · age 56
25–50%
—25-50% shares07/05/2017

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 →

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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
Incorporated1973-01-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC33140 — SIC 33140

Registered office

Netherton
Langbank
Renfrewshire
PA14 6YG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-19
Last: 2025-05-05

Officers (4 active · 11 resigned)

MCELHINNEY, Jacqueline→
secretary · appointed 2018-07-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITHGOW, James Frank→
director · ~56y · appointed 2017-07-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCCALLUM, Raymond→
director · ~68y · appointed 1997-06-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCELHINNEY, Jacqueline→
director · ~53y · appointed 2018-07-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BAIRD, John→
secretary · appointed 1993-11-01 · resigned 2003-01-31
Resigned
BROADFOOT, Archibald Simpson→
secretary · resigned 1993-07-30
Resigned
REID, Alasdair Richmond→
secretary · appointed 2003-02-03 · resigned 2014-03-31
Resigned
SHEARER, Alexander Craig→
secretary · appointed 1993-07-30 · resigned 1993-10-31
Resigned
WISHART, Alastair William Chisholm→
secretary · appointed 2014-03-31 · resigned 2017-07-31
Resigned
BROADFOOT, Archibald Simpson→
director · ~98y · resigned 1993-07-30
Resigned
CURRIE, Hugh Mckechnie→
director · ~77y · appointed 1992-03-26 · resigned 2010-12-20
Resigned
LEMOND, Brian Hugh→
director · ~73y · appointed 1989-05-26 · resigned 1993-10-31
Resigned
PARKER, Cameron Holdsworth→
director · ~94y · resigned 1994-09-12
Resigned
WILKINSON, David→
director · ~83y · resigned 2002-10-04
Resigned
WISHART, Alastair William Chisholm→
director · ~69y · appointed 1993-11-01 · resigned 2017-07-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Floating charge1 property21/06/200214/10/2006
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property01/11/198323/07/1986
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Letter of offset1 property30/03/198303/07/2007

Recent filings (116 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-09-18