WILLIAM MARR LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC203098 · ltd · incorporated 2000-01-19
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£4.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Buying and selling of own real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 83). 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 19.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 19.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
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
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
82 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £4,459
Cash YoY
-17%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£343k
↓ 17% YoY
Net Worth
£4k
↑ 446000% YoY
Current Assets
£553k
↓ 6.2% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £4.5k | £-1 |
| Current assets | £552.9k | £589.5k |
| Cash | £342.6k | £412.1k |
| Debtors | £184.2k | £177.4k |
| Net assets | £4.5k | £-1 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-09-23➖PROFIT COUNTS LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2024-03-19📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-11-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-02-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-27➖WATT, Ranald Guy resigneddirector
- 2020-05-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-05-26📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2020-05-26🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2020-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-18📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2013-01-01➕PROFIT COUNTS LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2012-12-31➖DUNN, Susan Elizabeth resignedsecretary
- 2009-10-30➕DUNN, Susan Elizabeth appointedsecretary
- 2009-10-29➖MOHAMMED, Nasser Abdul resignedsecretary
- 2007-02-19🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 2000-02-04➕WATT, William Andrew Brian appointeddirector
- 2000-02-04➖MEIKLEJOHN, Iain Maury Campbell resignednominee-secretary
- 2000-02-04➕MOHAMMED, Nasser Abdul appointedsecretary
- 2000-02-04➖MEIKLEJOHN, Iain Maury Campbell resignednominee-director
- 2000-02-04➕WATT, Ranald Guy appointeddirector
- 2000-02-04➖WILL, James Robert resignednominee-director
- 2000-01-19🏢Company incorporatedAs WILLIAM MARR LTD
- 2000-01-19➕MEIKLEJOHN, Iain Maury Campbell appointednominee-secretary
- 2000-01-19➕MEIKLEJOHN, Iain Maury Campbell appointednominee-director
- 2000-01-19➕WILL, James Robert appointednominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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
cleanNo 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 William Andrew Brian Watt Individual · British · DOB 08/1943 · age 83 | — | 75–100% | 75-100% voting | 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 · Property · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1LET LIMITED→ SC317107 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| 1ST CONNECT HOMES LTD→ SC842552 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 1ST FOCUS LETTING LIMITED→ SC667911 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 20 CABOT SQUARE I UNIT TRUST GP LIMITED→ SC312228 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| 34 MELVILLE STREET LIMITED→ SC714514 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 6M PROPERTIES LIMITED→ SC842080 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A2Z (EDINBURGH) LTD→ SC740640 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A701 LETTINGS LTD→ SC844164 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABALTON PROPERTIES LTD→ SC686874 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABBEYMILL BUSINESS CENTRE LIMITED→ SC567585 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ABBY PROPERTY MANAGMENT LTD→ SC813100 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABC HOLDINGS (EDIN) LTD→ SC621252 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2000-01-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68100 — Buying and selling of own real estate
Registered office
34 Whitecraig Road
Musselburgh
EH21 8NE
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-27
Last: 2025-11-13
Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)
WATT, William Andrew Brian→
Activedirector · ~83y · appointed 2000-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DUNN, Susan Elizabeth→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2009-10-30 · resigned 2012-12-31
MEIKLEJOHN, Iain Maury Campbell→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 2000-01-19 · resigned 2000-02-04
MOHAMMED, Nasser Abdul→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2000-02-04 · resigned 2009-10-29
PROFIT COUNTS LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2013-01-01 · resigned 2024-09-23
MEIKLEJOHN, Iain Maury Campbell→
Resignednominee-director · ~72y · appointed 2000-01-19 · resigned 2000-02-04
WATT, Ranald Guy→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 2000-02-04 · resigned 2020-05-27
WILL, James Robert→
Resignednominee-director · ~71y · appointed 2000-01-19 · resigned 2000-02-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Standard security | 1 property | 19/02/2007 | 26/05/2020 |
Recent filings (82 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-24
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-09-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-11-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-02-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-02