A.J.B. SPENCE & SON LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC240050 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-25
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
£1.38M
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
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
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
78 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £1,380,190
Cash YoY
+26%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£262k
↑ 26% YoY
Net Worth
£1.4m
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£781k
↑ 5.0% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.42M | £1.25M |
| Current assets | £781.2k | £744.0k |
| Cash | £261.9k | £208.1k |
| Debtors | £182.4k | £139.3k |
| Net assets | £1.38M | £1.23M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 (35 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-22📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-09-19📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2025-09-18📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2025-09-16📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-06-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-09-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-09-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-09-17📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-08-31➖SPENCE, Archibald James Beveridge resigneddirector
- 2024-06-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-06-28📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2021-06-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-24📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-06-18📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-06-18📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2021-05-31➕BROWN, Jack appointeddirector
- 2021-04-16📄capital-cancellation-sharescapital · SH06
- 2021-04-15📄capital-return-purchase-own-sharescapital · SH03
- 2021-02-28➖SPENCE, Susan resignedsecretary
- 2020-07-03➖SPENCE, Grant Beveridge resigneddirector
- 2018-08-01➕BROWN, Mark appointeddirector
- 2016-12-28➖SPENCE, Grizel Thomson resigneddirector
- 2014-08-21➕SPENCE, Susan appointedsecretary
- 2014-08-20➖SPENCE, Grizel Thomson resignedsecretary
- 2002-11-25🏢Company incorporatedAs A.J.B. SPENCE & SON LIMITED
- 2002-11-25➕SPENCE, Grizel Thomson appointedsecretary
- 2002-11-25➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-11-25➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-11-25➕SPENCE, Archibald James Beveridge appointeddirector
- 2002-11-25➕SPENCE, Grant Beveridge appointeddirector
- 2002-11-25➕SPENCE, Grizel Thomson appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Mark Brown Individual · British · DOB 10/1992 · age 34 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 31/08/2024 |
Mr Jack Brown Individual · British · DOB 04/1990 · age 36 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 31/08/2024 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Archibald James Beveridge Spenceceased 31/08/2024· 25-50% shares
- Mr Grant Beveridge Spenceceased 03/07/2020· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7AM RETAIL LIMITED→ 08833388 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| A NOTE FROM NORTHUMBERLAND LTD→ 15143854 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACTION ALLEY LTD→ 08846230 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ADAM PURVES RETAIL LIMITED→ SC781786 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AGRIPARTS (BORDERS) LIMITED→ 03068280 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| ALAA LIMITED→ 15461544 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ART OF DYE LTD→ SC736657 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ARTOLUSO LTD→ 14398098 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ATTIA AWAIS LIMITED→ SC835653 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AULD ALLIANCE TRADING COMPANY LIMITED→ SC338508 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BALNEAVES LIMITED→ SC606298 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BARON DE MUSCHAMP LTD→ 14373270 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2002-11-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47789 — Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Registered office
Bridgend Main Street
Reston
Eyemouth
Berwickshire
TD14 5JU
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-12
Last: 2025-11-28
Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)
Active
Active
SPENCE, Grizel Thomson→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2014-08-20
SPENCE, Susan→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2014-08-21 · resigned 2021-02-28
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2002-11-25
SPENCE, Archibald James Beveridge→
Resigneddirector · ~92y · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2024-08-31
SPENCE, Grant Beveridge→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2020-07-03
SPENCE, Grizel Thomson→
Resigneddirector · ~94y · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2016-12-28
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (78 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-01
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-10-22
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-09-19
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2025-09-18
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-09-17
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-09-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-09-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-30