A W LAING LTD.
🌳Matureactive
SC104477 · ltd · incorporated 1987-05-01
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Joinery installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 22.6y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 22.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
75
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
124 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 35 | 3500 |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-02-10📄replacement-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP01CS01
- 2026-01-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-04📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-08-04🔓Charge satisfied #5
- 2025-04-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-04-29📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2025-04-28📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2025-04-24📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-04-24📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-02-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-01📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2024-10-01📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2024-10-01📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2023-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-21🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Richard Andrew Cordell Eccles
- 2012-07-02➖LAING, Wendy resigneddirector
- 2012-07-02➖LAING, William resigneddirector
- 2011-12-19➕LAING, Geoffrey John appointeddirector
- 2009-04-08🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2008-10-22🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2008-10-09🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2008-08-11🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2006-04-19🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 2003-09-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 2003-05-16➕LAING, Irene Jean Christine appointeddirector
- 2003-05-16➕LAING, Wendy appointeddirector
- 1996-12-12➖LAING, Alistair William resigneddirector
- 1987-05-01🏢Company incorporatedAs A W LAING LTD.
Owner dependency
98/100
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
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LAING" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — 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 candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 39 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Geoffrey John Laing Individual · British · DOB 12/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 29/12/2016 |
Mr Ronald John Laing Individual · British · DOB 05/1949 · age 77 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 29/12/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| CAMLIN (INVERNESS) LIMITED→ SC791915 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CARRIDEN DEVELOPMENTS LTD→ SC701217 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CARRIDEN HOMES GROUP LTD.→ SC576959 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CARSE OF GOWRIE HOMES LIMITED→ SC558435 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CASEY JOINERS & CABINETMAKERS LTD→ SC881515 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CLOAN ELECTRICAL LTD→ SC818903 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated1987-05-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43320 — Joinery installation
Registered office
2 Woodlands Industrial Estate
Grantown-On-Spey
PH26 3NA
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-10
Last: 2025-12-27
Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)
Active
LAING, Geoffrey John→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2011-12-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LAING, Irene Jean Christine→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 2003-05-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAING, Alistair William→
Resigneddirector · ~105y · resigned 1996-12-12
LAING, Wendy→
Resigneddirector · ~72y · appointed 2003-05-16 · resigned 2012-07-02
LAING, William→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · resigned 2012-07-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
5
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Richard Andrew Cordell Eccles / Patricia Maude Eccles | A registered charge | 1 property | 21/02/2019 | 04/08/2025 | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 09/10/2008 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 11/08/2008 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Standard security | 1 property | 19/04/2006 | 22/10/2008 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 12/09/2003 | 08/04/2009 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (124 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-27
replacement-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP01CS01
2026-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-13
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-08-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-04-29
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2025-04-29
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2025-04-28
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-04-24
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-06
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-10-01
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-10-01
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-10-01