ALBA TOURS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC233633 · ltd · incorporated 2002-07-03
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£206.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Tour operator activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
58 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 · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £206,201
Cash YoY
+26%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£724k
↑ 26% YoY
Net Worth
£206k
↑ 8.0% YoY
Current Assets
£1.0m
↑ 32% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£201k£402k£603k£804k£1.0mJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£206.2k£190.9k
Current assets£1.01M£764.4k
Cash£724.1k£574.2k
Debtors£281.5k£190.2k
Net assets£206.2k£190.9k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-03-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-07-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2014-07-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2002-07-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALBA TOURS LIMITED
  16. 2002-07-03
    ➕
    CAIRNS, Anne Marie appointed
    secretary
  17. 2002-07-03
    ➕
    CAIRNS, Anne Marie appointed
    director
  18. 2002-07-03
    ➕
    CAIRNS, James appointed
    director
  19. 2002-07-03
    ➕
    FIRSTSCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2002-07-03
    ➖
    FIRSTSCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2002-07-03
    ➕
    FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 2002-07-03
    ➖
    FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 65. 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 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 James Cairns
Individual · British · DOB 05/1961 · age 65
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence02/07/2016
Mrs Anne Marie Cairns
Individual · British · DOB 07/1965 · age 61
25–50%
25–50%board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest02/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
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Available from the Pro tier upwards.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-07-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC79120 — Tour operator activities

Registered office

40 Chestnut Grove
Motherwell
Lanarkshire
ML1 3JF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-13
Last: 2026-03-30

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

CAIRNS, Anne Marie→
secretary · appointed 2002-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CAIRNS, Anne Marie→
director · ~61y · appointed 2002-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CAIRNS, James→
director · ~65y · appointed 2002-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FIRSTSCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-07-03 · resigned 2002-07-03
Resigned
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-07-03 · resigned 2002-07-03
Resigned

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

Recent filings (58 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-29