GARDINER ICM LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC197812 · ltd · incorporated 1999-07-05
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 26.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£2.60M
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 26.7y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 26.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

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
9 officers (3 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
78 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
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 £2,595,221
Cash YoY
+4%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£1.4m
↑ 4.1% YoY
Net Worth
£2.6m
↑ 2.3% YoY
Current Assets
£3.0m
↓ 3.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£628k£1.3m£1.9m£2.5m£3.1mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£2.60M£2.54M
Current assets£3.03M£3.14M
Cash£1.42M£1.36M
Debtors£1.04M£1.11M
Net assets£2.60M£2.54M

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-23
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2023-12-18
    ➕
    SMITH, Shona appointed
    secretary
  5. 2023-12-18
    ➖
    MACKIE, Evelyn resigned
    secretary
  6. 2023-12-18
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  7. 2023-12-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  8. 2023-07-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2023-06-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-04-30
    ➖
    MACKIE, Evelyn resigned
    director
  11. 2022-06-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-08-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-05-21
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  17. 2018-02-16
    ➖
    HUTCHINSON, Colin Herbert, Executors Of resigned
    director
  18. 2017-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2016-07-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  20. 2016-03-31
    ➖
    GARDINER, William Robert resigned
    director
  21. 2012-04-30
    ➕
    LEARMONTH, Iain George appointed
    director
  22. 2000-07-31
    ➕
    HUTCHINSON, David Antony appointed
    director
  23. 2000-07-31
    ➕
    HUTCHINSON, Colin Herbert, Executors Of appointed
    director
  24. 1999-08-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  25. 1999-08-23
    ➕
    MACKIE, Evelyn appointed
    secretary
  26. 1999-08-23
    ➖
    LEDINGHAM CHALMERS resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 1999-08-23
    ➕
    GARDINER, William Robert appointed
    director
  28. 1999-08-23
    ➕
    MACKIE, Evelyn appointed
    director
  29. 1999-08-23
    ➖
    DURANO LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 1999-07-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As GARDINER ICM LIMITED
  31. 1999-07-05
    ➕
    LEDINGHAM CHALMERS appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 1999-07-05
    ➕
    DURANO LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material 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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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.)

Group structure

H L Hutchinson Limited holds majority control (50-75%). Likely parent but not wholly-owned.

🏛️
H L Hutchinson Limited
Corporate parent · holds 50-75% shares · board control
majority
⬇
GARDINER ICM LIMITED
This company · SC197812

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
H L Hutchinson Limited
Corporate entity
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
EAST COAST VINERS (PEAS AND BEANS) LIMITED→
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TREETOP FORESTRY LIMITED→
SC292083 · est 2005
£5.00M
£3.85M–£6.15M
£12.98M—460020y8772y
ALTNAHARRA ESTATE LIMITED→
SC228455 · est 2002
£634.2k
£487.8k–£780.5k
——824y8571y
CHALLENGE FISHING COMPANY LIMITED→
SC192237 · est 1998
———627y8369y
FORTRIE FARMS LIMITED→
SC158055 · est 1995
———1031y8376y
LORANTHUS FISHING COMPANY LIMITED→
SC312585 · est 2006
———019y8370y
M B AQUARIUS LIMITED→
SC259115 · est 2003
———022y8370y
M.V. QUANTUS LIMITED→
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——£32.29M—32y8369y
MEARNS TRACTORS LIMITED→
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———122y8362y
SHANNON FISHING LIMITED→
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——£24.40M—31y8379y
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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
Incorporated1999-07-05
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production

Registered office

Gask Farm
Turriff
Aberdeenshire
AB53 8BP
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-19
Last: 2025-07-05

Officers (3 active · 6 resigned)

SMITH, Shona→
secretary · appointed 2023-12-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUTCHINSON, David Antony→
director · ~64y · appointed 2000-07-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LEARMONTH, Iain George→
director · ~60y · appointed 2012-04-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKIE, Evelyn→
secretary · appointed 1999-08-23 · resigned 2023-12-18
Resigned
LEDINGHAM CHALMERS→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-07-05 · resigned 1999-08-23
Resigned
GARDINER, William Robert→
director · ~76y · appointed 1999-08-23 · resigned 2016-03-31
Resigned
HUTCHINSON, Colin Herbert, Executors Of→
director · ~96y · appointed 2000-07-31 · resigned 2018-02-16
Resigned
MACKIE, Evelyn→
director · ~70y · appointed 1999-08-23 · resigned 2023-04-30
Resigned
DURANO LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-07-05 · resigned 1999-08-23
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
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property31/08/1999—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (78 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-08
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-01-23
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2023-12-18
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-12-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2020-08-19