COLIN M SMITH LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC094396 · ltd · incorporated 1985-07-22

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 10.2y old — refinance window within 12 months

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

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of electrical household appliances in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 10.2y

85/100

ready

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

· Oldest live charge is 10.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

106 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	2100	2100

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2025-12-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-10-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-02
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2018-10-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-19
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-09-30
➖
SMITH, Roland Andrew resigned
director
2017-04-07
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2016-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-12-04
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2016-12-01
➕
MITCHELL, Craig Scott Bissett appointed
director
2016-08-10
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2016-03-12
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
2012-03-07
➕
SMITH, Jonathen Munro appointed
director
2012-03-07
➕
SMITH, Roland Andrew appointed
director
1994-12-08
➕
SMITH, Pamela Jane appointed
director
1994-12-08
➖
SMITH, Colin Munro resigned
director
1985-07-22
🏢
Company incorporated
As COLIN M SMITH LIMITED

Owner dependency

88/100

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

-4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SMITH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100

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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 41 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Alexander Munro Smith Individual · British · DOB 07/1955 · age 71	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Mr Jonathen Munro Smithceased 12/12/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Retail · DD postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DIRECT SOCCER LIMITED→ SC331369 · est 2007	£3.48M £2.61M–£4.35M	—	—	3900	18y	82	66y
GILLIES OF BROUGHTY FERRY LIMITED→ SC026803 · est 1949	£3.30M £2.48M–£4.13M	—	—	200	77y	83	73y
THE PET FOOD STORE (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC374396 · est 2010	£474.4k £355.8k–£593.0k	—	—	6	16y	82	70y
BRECHIN CASTLE CENTRE LIMITED→ SC154663 · est 1994	—	—	£1.79M	—	31y	83	78y
A. KELLY LIMITED→ SC081337 · est 1982	—	—	—	1600	43y	82	74y
ANDERSON BUTCHERS LIMITED→ SC268128 · est 2004	—	—	—	2200	22y	82	68y
BAG SUPPLIES (FIBC) LTD.→ SC222749 · est 2001	—	—	£195.0k	—	24y	82	77y
DUNRIC LIMITED→ SC175641 · est 1997	—	—	—	200	29y	82	73y
GARDEN FURNITURE SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC306261 · est 2006	—	—	£463.3k	—	19y	82	59y
HAYAT BROTHERS LTD→ SC355228 · est 2009	—	—	£578.5k	—	17y	82	74y
JOHN KERR & SON (DAIRYMEN) LIMITED→ SC069602 · est 1979	—	—	—	7500	46y	82	66y
OLIVIA CAMERON BRIDAL LIMITED→ SC349071 · est 2008	—	—	—	300	17y	82	61y

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

Incorporated1985-07-22

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC47540 — Retail sale of electrical household appliances in specialised stores

Registered office

139 Castle Street

Forfar

Angus

DD8 3HN

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-02

Last: 2025-12-19

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

SMITH, Alexander Munro→

secretary

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MITCHELL, Craig Scott Bissett→

director · ~56y · appointed 2016-12-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SMITH, Alexander Munro→

director · ~71y

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SMITH, Jonathen Munro→

director · ~50y · appointed 2012-03-07

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SMITH, Pamela Jane→

director · ~69y · appointed 1994-12-08

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SMITH, Colin Munro→

director · ~101y · resigned 1994-12-08

Resigned

SMITH, Roland Andrew→

director · ~48y · appointed 2012-03-07 · resigned 2017-09-30

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC	A registered charge	1 property	10/08/2016	—
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC	A registered charge	—	12/03/2016	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (106 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-12-22

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-12-05

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-12-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-10-15

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-12-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-07-25

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-12-22

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC07

2022-12-13

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2022-10-31

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-12-23

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2021-09-24

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-01-04

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2020-12-08

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2019-12-23

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2019-12-11