GLASGOW BUS MUSEUM LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC232666 · ltd · incorporated 2002-06-12
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
£2.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Museum activities
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). 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).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
63 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £2,262
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£2k
↑ 14% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↑ 14% 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 | £2.3k | £2.0k |
| Current assets | £2.3k | £2.0k |
| Net assets | £2.3k | £2.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (29 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-07📍change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD02
- 2015-07-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2015-07-07📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2006-06-13➕ROULSTON, Janette appointedsecretary
- 2006-06-13➕ROULSTON, Michael James appointeddirector
- 2006-06-13➖HAMILTON, Tracey resignedsecretary
- 2006-06-13➖MACMILLAN, Paul Robert resigneddirector
- 2004-04-27➕HAMILTON, Tracey appointedsecretary
- 2004-04-27➖ROULSTON, Janette resignedsecretary
- 2004-04-27➕MACMILLAN, Paul Robert appointeddirector
- 2004-04-27➖ROULSTON, Michael James resigneddirector
- 2002-06-12🏢Company incorporatedAs GLASGOW BUS MUSEUM LIMITED
- 2002-06-12➕ROULSTON, Janette appointedsecretary
- 2002-06-12➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-06-12➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-06-12➕ROULSTON, Michael James appointeddirector
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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr4 Michael James Roulston Individual · British · DOB 08/1955 · age 71 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 01/10/2016 |
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 · Leisure & entertainment · KA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JIM WILMER EQUESTRIAN LTD→ SC534333 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| KELBURN ARTS LTD→ SC524594 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| KILBIRNIE AULD KIRK FUTURE GROUP LTD→ SC882353 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LENDALFOOT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LIMITED→ SC289259 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| LINKS UNSEEN LIMITED→ SC878133 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LUCKY HAGGIS COMPETITION'S LTD→ SC858089 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| M & L ENTERPRISES SCOTLAND LTD→ SC572799 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| MCCULLOCH ATA LIMITED→ SC472644 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| MILLBRAE LIMITED→ SC720062 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| NOCTURNE PRODUCTIONS LTD→ SC729982 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| NORTH STAR DANCE STUDIO LTD→ SC851117 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| OTSN- OUTSIDE NOW LTD→ SC862618 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-06-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC91020 — Museum activities
Registered office
Greenlea Farm
Lochlibo Road
Auchentiber
KA13 7RR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-26
Last: 2025-06-12
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
Active
ROULSTON, Michael James→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2006-06-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HAMILTON, Tracey→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-04-27 · resigned 2006-06-13
ROULSTON, Janette→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-06-12 · resigned 2004-04-27
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-06-12 · resigned 2002-06-12
MACMILLAN, Paul Robert→
Resigneddirector · ~51y · appointed 2004-04-27 · resigned 2006-06-13
ROULSTON, Michael James→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2002-06-12 · resigned 2004-04-27
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (63 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-09-13