COLIN FRASER LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC236839 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-17
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£690.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10200
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 46380Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 23.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 23.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
73 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £690,519
Cash YoY
-2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£222k
↓ 1.6% YoY
Net Worth
£691k
↑ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£1.3m
↓ 2.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £698.0k | £613.1k |
| Current assets | £1.29M | £1.33M |
| Cash | £221.7k | £225.4k |
| Debtors | £1.01M | £1.09M |
| Net assets | £690.5k | £596.5k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-03📄change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH04
- 2025-05-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-03📄change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH04
- 2024-05-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-05-26📄change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH04
- 2021-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-10-01➕BURNETT & REID LLP appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2012-09-30➖BURNETT & REID resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2005-03-24➖COUPER, Daniel Alexander resigneddirector
- 2003-01-31🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 2002-11-07➕FRASER, Colin Beattie appointeddirector
- 2002-11-07➕COUPER, Daniel Alexander appointeddirector
- 2002-11-07➖MCMILLAN, Michael Dale resignednominee-director
- 2002-09-17🏢Company incorporatedAs COLIN FRASER LIMITED
- 2002-09-17➕BURNETT & REID appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2002-09-17➕MCMILLAN, Michael Dale 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FRASER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 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
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 Colin Beattie Fraser Individual · British · DOB 07/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Food & drink · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLEN GRANT LIMITED→ SC292101 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| GLENRINNES DISTILLERY LIMITED→ SC543737 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| GLOBAL TRADE CONCEPT LTD→ SC482474 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| GUTSY FOOD GROUP LIMITED→ SC833834 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HAAR COFFEE LIMITED→ SC836666 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HIGHLAND PRIDE FOODS LIMITED→ SC049509 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 54y | — | — |
| INGRAM'S FARM LTD→ SC262000 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| J CHARLES SEAFOODS LIMITED→ SC711040 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| JOM LTD→ SC790067 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| JOSEPH ROBERTSON (READY MEALS) LIMITED→ SC663229 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| KARRO FOOD LIMITED→ SC220000 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| KINDNESS BAKERS LIMITED→ SC103492 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-09-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC10200 — SIC 10200
Registered office
Suite A
1 Albyn Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1BR
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-17
Last: 2025-09-03
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
BURNETT & REID LLP→
Activecorporate-secretary · appointed 2012-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FRASER, Colin Beattie→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2002-11-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BURNETT & REID→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2002-09-17 · resigned 2012-09-30
COUPER, Daniel Alexander→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · appointed 2002-11-07 · resigned 2005-03-24
MCMILLAN, Michael Dale→
Resignednominee-director · ~82y · appointed 2002-09-17 · resigned 2002-11-07
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 31/01/2003 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (73 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-04
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2025-09-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-25
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2024-05-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-05-26
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2021-05-26