HCS CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC185931 · ltd · incorporated 1998-05-20
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.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
6 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 26.4y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 26.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (61/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
12 officers (3 active, 12 linked, 7 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
15 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
131 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 mortgage
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 mortgage
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 4 mortgage
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (48 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-31📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2026-03-31🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2026-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-mediumaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-18📄mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-numbermortgage · 466(Scot)
- 2025-11-13📄mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-numbermortgage · 466(Scot)
- 2025-11-12📄mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-numbermortgage · 466(Scot)
- 2024-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-mediumaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-04📍change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD02
- 2023-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-28📄mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-numbermortgage · 466(Scot)
- 2020-11-28📄mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-numbermortgage · 466(Scot)
- 2020-11-25📄mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-numbermortgage · 466(Scot)
- 2019-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-05🔓Charge satisfied #5
- 2017-05-31➖LESTRANGE, Brett Anthony resigneddirector
- 2014-09-11🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2014-08-13🔒Charge registered #6Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2013-06-21🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2013-06-17🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
- 2013-06-14➕BURNESS PAULL LLP appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2013-06-14➕MCGUINNESS, Neil Stephen appointeddirector
- 2013-06-14➖MACROBERTS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2013-06-14➕LESTRANGE, Brett Anthony appointeddirector
- 2013-06-14➖REID, Ian James resigneddirector
- 2013-06-14🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Simmons Parallel Private L.P.
- 2013-06-14🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Maven Capital Partners UK LLP
- 2013-01-15➕MACROBERTS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2009-09-15🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
- 2008-06-06➖EDMISTON, John Andrew resignedsecretary
- 2008-06-06➖EDMISTON, John Andrew resigneddirector
- 2004-05-21➖FRENCH, Ronald resigneddirector
- 2002-09-06➕BALFOUR, Kenneth appointeddirector
- 2002-09-06➕FRENCH, Ronald appointeddirector
- 2001-05-08➕EDMISTON, John Andrew appointeddirector
- 2000-08-31➖FRENCH, Ronald resigneddirector
- 1999-11-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 1998-08-03➕REID, Ian James appointeddirector
- 1998-06-01➕EDMISTON, John Andrew appointedsecretary
- 1998-06-01➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-06-01➕FRENCH, Ronald appointeddirector
- 1998-06-01➖JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-05-20🏢Company incorporatedAs HCS CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED
- 1998-05-20➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-05-20➕JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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.
Group structure
Hcs Control Systems (Holdings) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Hcs Control Systems (Holdings) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
HCS CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED
This company · SC185931
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hcs Control Systems (Holdings) Limited Corporate entity | 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.
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1998-05-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC28990 — SIC 28990
Registered office
Unit V2 Viewfield Road
Viewfield Industrial Estate
Glenrothes
KY6 2QX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-03
Last: 2025-05-20
Officers (3 active · 9 resigned)
BURNESS PAULL LLP→
Activecorporate-secretary · appointed 2013-06-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BALFOUR, Kenneth→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2002-09-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCGUINNESS, Neil Stephen→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2013-06-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
EDMISTON, John Andrew→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-06-01 · resigned 2008-06-06
MACROBERTS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2013-01-15 · resigned 2013-06-14
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-05-20 · resigned 1998-06-01
EDMISTON, John Andrew→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · appointed 2001-05-08 · resigned 2008-06-06
FRENCH, Ronald→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · appointed 2002-09-06 · resigned 2004-05-21
FRENCH, Ronald→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · appointed 1998-06-01 · resigned 2000-08-31
LESTRANGE, Brett Anthony→
Resigneddirector · ~57y · appointed 2013-06-14 · resigned 2017-05-31
REID, Ian James→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 1998-08-03 · resigned 2013-06-14
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-05-20 · resigned 1998-06-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
6
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 13/08/2014 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 17/06/2013 | 05/09/2017 | |
| satisfied | Simmons Parallel Private L.P. | A registered charge | 1 property | 14/06/2013 | 31/03/2026 | |
| outstanding | Maven Capital Partners UK Maven Capital Partners UK LLP | A registered charge | 1 property | 14/06/2013 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 15/09/2009 | 11/09/2014 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 23/11/1999 | 21/06/2013 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (131 total)
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2026-01-07
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2025-11-18
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2025-11-13
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2025-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2024-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-05
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2023-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-20