HARELAW LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC192833 · ltd · incorporated 1999-01-26
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£236.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 10.8y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 10.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
70 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £236,488
Net assets shrinking
Down £688 YoY
Cash YoY
-1%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£327k
↓ 1.1% YoY
Net Worth
£236k
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£66k£132k£198k£264k£331kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Cash£327.1k£330.6k
Net assets£236.5k£237.2k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-04-14
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  7. 2022-04-12
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2021-10-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-02-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-08-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  17. 2010-11-07
    ➖
    WILSON, John Blair resigned
    director
  18. 1999-01-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HARELAW LIMITED
  19. 1999-01-26
    ➕
    MACKENZIE, Andrew Ross appointed
    secretary
  20. 1999-01-26
    ➕
    MACKENZIE, Andrew Ross appointed
    director
  21. 1999-01-26
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1999-01-26
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1999-01-26
    ➕
    WILSON, John Blair appointed
    director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew Ross Mackenzie
Individual · British · DOB 10/1966 · age 60
75–100%
—75-100% shares26/01/2017

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 →

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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
Incorporated1999-01-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

Culcreuch
Hilton Farm
Tain
IV19 1LZ
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-09
Last: 2026-01-26

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MACKENZIE, Andrew Ross→
secretary · appointed 1999-01-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKENZIE, Andrew Ross→
director · ~60y · appointed 1999-01-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-01-26 · resigned 1999-01-26
Resigned
WILSON, John Blair→
director · ~75y · appointed 1999-01-26 · resigned 2010-11-07
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—19/08/2015—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (70 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-10
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-13
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-02