HIREABAND LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC233093 · ltd · incorporated 2002-06-20
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c.
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 18.2y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
69 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Average employees600600

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 (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-30
    ➖
    COTTON, Rachel Amanda resigned
    director
  2. 2025-06-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2025-06-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2025-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-04-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-03-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  7. 2024-03-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  8. 2023-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-05-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2023-04-26
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2023-04-13
    ➕
    COTTON, Rachel Amanda appointed
    director
  12. 2023-03-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2023-03-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2023-03-10
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  15. 2023-03-10
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2023-03-10
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2022-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2019-10-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2019-09-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  21. 2018-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2017-02-10
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  23. 2008-03-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: West of Scotland Loan Fund Limited
  24. 2002-06-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HIREABAND LIMITED
  25. 2002-06-20
    ➕
    COTTON, Lisa appointed
    secretary
  26. 2002-06-20
    ➕
    COTTON, Derek Henry appointed
    director
  27. 2002-06-20
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2002-06-20
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — 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 61. 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Derek Henry Cotton
Individual · British · DOB 06/1965 · age 61
25–50%
—25-50% shares18/07/2017
Mrs Lisa Cotton
Individual · British · DOB 10/1967 · age 59
25–50%
—25-50% shares18/07/2017

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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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
IBT TRAVEL LIMITED→
SC299214 · est 2006
£4.59M
£3.57M–£5.61M
£12.93M—240020y9358y
ARDROSSAN WINTON ROVERS FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED→
SC139602 · est 1992 · no financials extracted
————33y8374y
L A BOWL (SCOTLAND) LTD.→
SC392300 · est 2011
————15y8382y
M & M THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS LTD→
SC235693 · est 2002
————23y8362y
THE STEAMSHIP SIR WALTER SCOTT TRUST→
SC271149 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
————21y8394y
WICKED COSTUMES LIMITED→
SC347295 · est 2008
——£1.61M—17y8362y
BEITH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST→
SC394148 · est 2011
——£1.89M—15y8274y
CLYDE MARINA LIMITED→
SC155326 · est 1995
——£1.09M—31y8282y
MRC FITNESS & LEISURE LIMITED→
SC087814 · est 1984
——£20.1k—42y8269y
LOCHRANZA AND CATACOL SEA SOCIETY C.I.C→
SC324636 · est 2007
——£27.6k—18y8183y
NETHERTHIRD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP→
SC384419 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y8167y
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——£24.0k—30y8182y
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
Incorporated2002-06-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC93290 — Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c.

Registered office

6 Danefield Avenue
Largs
KA30 8RU
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-12
Last: 2025-05-29

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

COTTON, Lisa→
secretary · appointed 2002-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COTTON, Derek Henry→
director · ~61y · appointed 2002-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-06-20 · resigned 2002-06-20
Resigned
COTTON, Rachel Amanda→
director · ~28y · appointed 2023-04-13 · resigned 2025-06-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property10/02/2017—
satisfied
West of Scotland Loan Fund
West of Scotland Loan Fund Limited
Bond & floating charge1 property31/03/200821/03/2024
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (69 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-02
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-05-15
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-04-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-10
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-03-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-10