FIRTH BUILDINGS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC062378 · ltd · incorporated 1977-05-18

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

69/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 22290

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 69/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

93 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

69/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Some moderate concerns — review flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2026-04-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-01-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-29
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-12-29
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2017-12-29
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2017-04-10
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2017-04-10
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2017-04-10
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-04-10
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-03-31
➕
JOHNSTON, John Crichton appointed
director
2017-03-31
➖
JOHNSTON, Helen resigned
secretary
2017-03-31
➖
JOHNSTON, Helen resigned
director
2017-03-31
➖
JOHNSTON, Ronald Crichton resigned
director
2017-03-30
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2013-01-16
➕
JOHNSTON, Helen appointed
director
2003-11-28
➖
JOHNSTON, Helen resigned
director
1977-05-18
🏢
Company incorporated
As FIRTH BUILDINGS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100

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 age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

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.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 49 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·

Confirmation statement overdue

high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-01-05

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr John Crichton Johnston Individual · British · DOB 12/1958 · age 68	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · firm interest	31/03/2017

2 historic (ceased) PSCs

Mr Ronald Crichton Johnstonceased 31/03/2017· 25-50% shares
Mrs Helen Johnstonceased 31/03/2017· 25-50% shares

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 →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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

Incorporated1977-05-18

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC22290 — SIC 22290

Registered office

125 Auchterderran Road

Lochgelly

Fife

KY5 9BR

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-01-05OVERDUE

Last: 2024-12-22

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

JOHNSTON, John Crichton→

director · ~68y · appointed 2017-03-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

JOHNSTON, Helen→

secretary · resigned 2017-03-31

Resigned

JOHNSTON, Helen→

director · ~100y · appointed 2013-01-16 · resigned 2017-03-31

Resigned

JOHNSTON, Helen→

director · ~100y · resigned 2003-11-28

Resigned

JOHNSTON, Ronald Crichton→

director · ~101y · resigned 2017-03-31

Resigned

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