GRANITE CITY FISH LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC130588 · ltd · incorporated 1991-03-18
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2024
Net worth
£327.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10200
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 34.7y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 34.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
87 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £327,007
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£251k
Net Worth
£327k
Current Assets
£379k
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-05-31 | 2023-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £342.5k | — |
| Current assets | £379.3k | — |
| Cash | £251.0k | — |
| Debtors | £126.3k | — |
| Net assets | £327.0k | — |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-04-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-03-31📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-02-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2009-11-26➖FLETCHER, Georgina Colbert resigneddirector
- 2007-01-25🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2006-05-25➕ROUTLEDGE, Alma Mary appointedsecretary
- 2006-05-25➖GRAY & CONNOCHIE resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2005-11-10🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
- 1991-08-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 1991-03-18🏢Company incorporatedAs GRANITE CITY FISH LIMITED
- 1991-03-18➕FLETCHER, Edward Arthur appointeddirector
- 1991-03-18➕MABBOTT, Lesley appointednominee-secretary
- 1991-03-18➖MABBOTT, Lesley resignednominee-secretary
- 1991-03-18➕GRAY & CONNOCHIE appointedcorporate-secretary
- 1991-03-18➕FLETCHER, Georgina Colbert appointeddirector
- 1991-03-18➕MABBOTT, Stephen appointednominee-director
- 1991-03-18➖MABBOTT, Stephen resignednominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 35 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 35 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 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
cleanNo 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 Edward Arthur Fletcher Individual · British · DOB 09/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Food & drink · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLEN GRANT LIMITED→ SC292101 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| GLOBAL TRADE CONCEPT LTD→ SC482474 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| HAAR COFFEE LIMITED→ SC836666 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| KARRO FOOD LIMITED→ SC220000 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| LAESO FISH LIMITED→ SC184241 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| LICKIES CONVENIENCE FOODS LTD→ SC605075 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| LOSSIE SEAFOODS LTD.→ SC145004 · est 1993 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| MCALLISTER CONFECTIONERY LIMITED→ SC759101 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| NINO’S MASALA LTD→ SC660929 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| NOLAN SEAFOODS (UK) LIMITED→ SC239960 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| NORVITE ANIMAL NUTRITION COMPANY LIMITED→ SC281433 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| NOZBO DRINKS LIMITED→ SC555323 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated1991-03-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC10200 — SIC 10200
Registered office
74 Deemount Gardens
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
AB11 7UE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-01
Last: 2026-03-18
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
ROUTLEDGE, Alma Mary→
Activesecretary · appointed 2006-05-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FLETCHER, Edward Arthur→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 1991-03-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MABBOTT, Lesley→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1991-03-18 · resigned 1991-03-18
GRAY & CONNOCHIE→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 1991-03-18 · resigned 2006-05-25
FLETCHER, Georgina Colbert→
Resigneddirector · ~99y · appointed 1991-03-18 · resigned 2009-11-26
MABBOTT, Stephen→
Resignednominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1991-03-18 · resigned 1991-03-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company | Floating charge | 1 property | 10/11/2005 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Floating charge | 1 property | 14/08/1991 | 25/01/2007 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (87 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-02-26