JAMES BLAKE LIMITED

⚰️Wound downdissolved

SC177309 · ltd · incorporated 1997-07-16

Investment thesis

Company dissolved — not a live target.

Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.

Why risky: Not transactable.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

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

· Oldest live charge 28.6y old — refinance window within 12 months

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

53/100

Worth a look

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

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 3612

Sector: Water supply & waste

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

4545SIC 4545

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 53/100 (worth a look), bankability 55/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 74). Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (50/100). Current lenders should be on monthly review.

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 28.6y

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 28.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Legal-friction score 45/100 (high).

Data confidence

Overall: low (53/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)

Director network

17 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

32 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

53/100Worth a look

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality

Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand

2013-07-24
⚠️
gazette-dissolved-liquidation
gazette · GAZ2
2013-07-24
🏁
Company dissolved
2013-04-24
⚠️
liquidation-compulsory-return-of-final-meeting-scotland
insolvency · 4.17(Scot)
2004-11-16
📍
legacy
address · 287
2003-12-30
⚠️
liquidation-compulsory-notice-winding-up-scotland
insolvency · CO4.2(Scot)
2003-12-30
⚠️
liquidation-compulsory-winding-up-order-scotland
insolvency · 4.2(Scot)
2003-11-26
⚠️
liquidation-compulsory-appointment-provisional-liquidator-scotland
insolvency · 4.9(Scot)
2003-07-21
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2003-01-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2002-08-12
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2001-12-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2001-08-03
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2000-08-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2000-08-09
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
1999-10-19
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
1999-08-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
1999-04-26
📄
legacy
accounts · 225
1998-09-16
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
1998-09-16
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363(353)
1998-09-16
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363(190)
1997-11-21
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
1997-11-21
📄
legacy
capital · 123
1997-11-21
📄
legacy
officers · 288a
1997-11-14
📄
legacy
capital · 88(2)R
1997-11-14
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
1997-11-14
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
1997-09-29
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
1997-08-29
➕
CHISHOLM, Bruce appointed
director
1997-07-17
➕
ROWSON, Philip Michael appointed
director
1997-07-17
➖
RENNIE, David Alan resigned
director
1997-07-16
🏢
Company incorporated
As JAMES BLAKE LIMITED
1997-07-16
➕
STRONACHS appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-07-16
➕
RENNIE, David Alan appointed
director

Owner dependency

83/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100

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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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

2 high ·

Company dissolved

high

Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.

Evidence: Dissolved on 2013-07-24

5 insolvency-related filings on record

high

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

Evidence: 2013-07-24: gazette-dissolved-liquidation; 2013-04-24: liquidation-compulsory-return-of-final-meeting-scotland

🔒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

10 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.

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Company details

Statusdissolved

Typeltd

Incorporated1997-07-16

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC3612 — SIC 3612

Registered office

37 Albyn Place

Aberdeen

AB10 1FW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: —

Last made up to: 2001-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: —

Last: —

Officers (0 active · 1 resigned)

STRONACHS→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-07-16

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CHISHOLM, Bruce→

director · ~74y · appointed 1997-08-29

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

ROWSON, Philip Michael→

director · ~74y · appointed 1997-07-17

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RENNIE, David Alan→

director · ~73y · appointed 1997-07-16 · resigned 1997-07-17

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland	Bond & floating charge	1 property	29/09/1997	—

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

Recent filings (32 total)

gazette-dissolved-liquidation

gazette · GAZ2

2013-07-24

liquidation-compulsory-return-of-final-meeting-scotland

insolvency · 4.17(Scot)

2013-04-24

legacy

address · 287

2004-11-16

liquidation-compulsory-notice-winding-up-scotland

insolvency · CO4.2(Scot)

2003-12-30

liquidation-compulsory-winding-up-order-scotland

insolvency · 4.2(Scot)

2003-12-30

liquidation-compulsory-appointment-provisional-liquidator-scotland

insolvency · 4.9(Scot)

2003-11-26

legacy

annual-return · 363a

2003-07-21

accounts-with-accounts-type-full

accounts · AA

2003-01-03

legacy

annual-return · 363a

2002-08-12

accounts-with-accounts-type-full

accounts · AA

2001-12-07

legacy

annual-return · 363a

2001-08-03

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2000-08-16

legacy

annual-return · 363a

2000-08-09

legacy

annual-return · 363a

1999-10-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

1999-08-18