MACDONALD PLANT LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC240498 · ltd · incorporated 2002-12-03

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

£11.8k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -72% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 22.5y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 22.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

59 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £11,776

Cash draining

Cash down 72% YoY

Cash YoY

-72%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£19k

↓ 72% YoY

Net Worth

£12k

↑ 8433% YoY

Current Assets

£64k

↓ 57% 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	£38.1k	£40.4k
Current assets	£64.4k	£148.5k
Cash	£19.1k	£68.1k
Debtors	£45.3k	£58.2k
Net assets	£11.8k	£138

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2025-09-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-09-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-09-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-06-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-12-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-08-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-12-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2009-10-01
➖
JM TAYLOR LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2003-10-06
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
2003-09-19
➖
ADD ACCOUNTANCY LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2003-09-19
➕
JM TAYLOR LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2003-05-01
➕
ADD ACCOUNTANCY LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2003-05-01
➖
J M TAYLOR resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-12-12
➖
SIMMERS, Jamie Jan resigned
nominee-director
2002-12-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As MACDONALD PLANT LIMITED
2002-12-03
➕
MACDONALD, Iain appointed
director
2002-12-03
➕
J M TAYLOR appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-12-03
➕
SIMMERS, Jamie Jan appointed
nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MACDONALD" — 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 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

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 68. 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 23 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Iain Macdonald Individual · Scottish · DOB 11/1958 · age 68	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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 · Construction · IV postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A J CONTRACTORS LTD→ SC654995 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
A.C.T HERITAGE LIMITED→ SC494134 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
A.G. CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ SC234141 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
A.G.T ICF WOODCRETE CONSTRUCTION AND CONSULTATING LIMITED→ SC820402 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AARDVARK CONTRACTING LIMITED→ SC333170 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
AB MASONRY LTD→ SC490489 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ABLE CARE LIMITED→ SC167762 · est 1996 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	—	—
ADAM MACDONALD BUILDING & JOINERY (SKYE) LIMITED→ SC287673 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
AFJ HOMES LIMITED→ SC667917 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AG SERVICES HIGHLAND LTD→ SC882410 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AIGAS CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC322325 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
AIS SCAFFOLDING LIMITED→ SC570037 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-12-03

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC42990 — Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.

Registered office

Old Inn

Moy

Inverness

IV13 7YF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-17

Last: 2025-12-03

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

MACDONALD, Iain→

director · ~68y · appointed 2002-12-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

ADD ACCOUNTANCY LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2003-05-01 · resigned 2003-09-19

Resigned

J M TAYLOR→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-12-03 · resigned 2003-05-01

Resigned

JM TAYLOR LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2003-09-19 · resigned 2009-10-01

Resigned

SIMMERS, Jamie Jan→

nominee-director · ~48y · appointed 2002-12-03 · resigned 2002-12-12

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

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	06/10/2003	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.