AREACENTRE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC144187 · ltd · incorporated 1993-05-04

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 Apr 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Development of building projects

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

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

1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

3 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

85 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

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

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-04-30
Average employees	0

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2026-04-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-01-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-01-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-21
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-06-21
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2016-06-21
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2016-02-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-11
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2011-05-30
➖
1924 NOMINEES LTD resigned
corporate-secretary
2004-12-02
➖
MANCLARK, James William Mckinnon resigned
director
1995-08-22
➕
1924 NOMINEES LTD appointed
corporate-secretary
1995-08-22
➖
ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL & HARLEY resigned
corporate-secretary
1993-05-13
➕
HUTCHISON, Peter Oliphant appointed
director
1993-05-13
➕
ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL & HARLEY appointed
corporate-secretary
1993-05-13
➖
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1993-05-13
➕
MANCLARK, James William Mckinnon appointed
director
1993-05-13
➖
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1993-05-04
🏢
Company incorporated
As AREACENTRE LIMITED
1993-05-04
➕
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1993-05-04
➕
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 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 candidate

Strong 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 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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 Peter Oliphant Hutchison Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	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 · Construction · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A TICKHILL AND SONS LTD→ SC799966 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
A.V.A PROPERTY SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC803023 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AMRO DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→ SC539309 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
AOP ASSOCIATES LTD→ SC615117 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
AQUARIUS THERMAL SYSTEMS LTD→ SC313788 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
ARK DEV LTD→ SC835253 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ARONA INC LTD→ SC660560 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ARTURUS ROOF SURVEYS LTD→ SC777782 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ASAP FLOORING SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC616522 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ATHENA PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→ SC615751 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ATLANTIUS LIMITED→ SC594254 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ATLAS 365 SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC751846 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—

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

Incorporated1993-05-04

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC41100 — Development of building projects

Registered office

Tynepark House Tynepark

Poldrate

Haddington

East Lothian

EH41 4DA

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-05-16

Last: 2025-05-02

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

HUTCHISON, Peter Oliphant→

director · ~66y · appointed 1993-05-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

1924 NOMINEES LTD→

corporate-secretary · appointed 1995-08-22 · resigned 2011-05-30

Resigned

ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL & HARLEY→

corporate-secretary · appointed 1993-05-13 · resigned 1995-08-22

Resigned

OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-05-04 · resigned 1993-05-13

Resigned

MANCLARK, James William Mckinnon→

director · ~87y · appointed 1993-05-13 · resigned 2004-12-02

Resigned

JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-05-04 · resigned 1993-05-13

Resigned

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