CHARLES MCCREA LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC064033 · ltd · incorporated 1978-02-07
Investment thesis
Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.
Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.
Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 30.8y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
not disclosed
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
47/100
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 4531
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed admin-neglect survivor — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 47/100 (watch), bankability 25/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 73). Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: asset disposal / carve-out (55/100). Current lenders should be on immediate intervention.

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 30.8y

55/100
too messy

Structure is too messy for a clean refinance right now — clean up first or expect bespoke terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 45/100 (high).

Data confidence

Overall: low (48/100)

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
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
47/100Watch
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Not actionable now, but monitor — distressed, succession, or structural changes could flip this into a real opportunity.

Business quality
25
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
23
Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.
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 (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-24
    📄
    court-order
    miscellaneous · OC-DV
  2. 2016-11-19
    ⚠️
    gazette-dissolved-liquidation
    gazette · GAZ2
  3. 2016-08-19
    ⚠️
    liquidation-compulsory-return-of-final-meeting-scotland
    insolvency · 4.17(Scot)
  4. 2013-12-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2011-12-08
    ⚠️
    liquidation-compulsory-appointment-provisional-liquidator-scotland
    insolvency · 4.9(Scot)
  6. 2011-12-08
    ⚠️
    liquidation-compulsory-notice-winding-up-scotland
    insolvency · CO4.2(Scot)
  7. 2011-12-08
    ⚠️
    liquidation-compulsory-winding-up-order-scotland
    insolvency · 4.2(Scot)
  8. 2011-08-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2011-07-27
    ⚠️
    liquidation-compulsory-appointment-provisional-liquidator-scotland
    insolvency · 4.9(Scot)
  10. 2010-12-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  11. 2010-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2009-12-15
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2009-12-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2009-12-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2009-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2008-12-12
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  17. 2008-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2007-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2007-12-13
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  20. 2006-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  21. 2006-12-04
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363s
  22. 2005-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  23. 2005-11-17
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363s
  24. 2004-11-17
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363s
  25. 2004-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  26. 2002-10-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  27. 1998-03-10
    MUNDIE, George appointed
    secretary
  28. 1998-03-09
    MCCREA, Elizabeth Jennings resigned
    secretary
  29. 1998-03-09
    MCCREA, Elizabeth Jennings resigned
    director
  30. 1995-06-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  31. 1978-02-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CHARLES MCCREA LIMITED

Owner dependency

81/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 48 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

3 high · 1 med ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2011-12-31

Confirmation statement overdue
high

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

Evidence: Next due: 2016-11-30

6 insolvency-related filings on record
high

Filings relating to insolvency, liquidation, or administration exist in the company's history. Review before proceeding.

Evidence: 2016-11-19: gazette-dissolved-liquidation; 2016-08-19: liquidation-compulsory-return-of-final-meeting-scotland

Has insolvency history
medium

Companies House flags prior insolvency events. Review the insolvency filings for context.

🔒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

12 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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1978-02-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC4531 — SIC 4531

Registered office

Apex 3 95 Haymarket Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5HD

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2011-12-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2010-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2016-11-30OVERDUE
Last:

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MUNDIE, George
secretary · appointed 1998-03-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MUNDIE, George
director · ~73y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MUNDIE, Peter
director · ~67y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCCREA, Elizabeth Jennings
secretary · resigned 1998-03-09
Resigned
MCCREA, Elizabeth Jennings
director · ~87y · resigned 1998-03-09
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property18/10/2002
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property26/06/1995
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (72 total)

court-order
miscellaneous · OC-DV
2025-09-24
gazette-dissolved-liquidation
gazette · GAZ2
2016-11-19
liquidation-compulsory-return-of-final-meeting-scotland
insolvency · 4.17(Scot)
2016-08-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
address · AD01
2013-12-12
liquidation-compulsory-appointment-provisional-liquidator-scotland
insolvency · 4.9(Scot)
2011-12-08
liquidation-compulsory-notice-winding-up-scotland
insolvency · CO4.2(Scot)
2011-12-08
liquidation-compulsory-winding-up-order-scotland
insolvency · 4.2(Scot)
2011-12-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
address · AD01
2011-08-03
liquidation-compulsory-appointment-provisional-liquidator-scotland
insolvency · 4.9(Scot)
2011-07-27
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2010-12-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2010-12-06
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2009-12-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2009-12-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2009-12-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2009-11-14