S W PATERSON & CO. LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC250073 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-23
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 13.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 13.7y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 13.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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, 1 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
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
53 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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £809.9k |
| Current assets | — | £851.3k |
| Cash | — | £485.1k |
| Debtors | — | £7.2k |
| Net assets | — | £729.0k |
| Average employees | 2 | — |
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 (23 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-10📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-01-01➕TAIT, Eryn Jan appointeddirector
- 2022-01-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-01📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-08-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2003-05-23🏢Company incorporatedAs S W PATERSON & CO. LIMITED
- 2003-05-23➕ROSS, Fiona Jean Goodwin appointedsecretary
- 2003-05-23➕PATERSON, Colin Stewart appointeddirector
- 2003-05-23➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-05-23➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
Owner dependency
98/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "PATERSON" — 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 66 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
86/100
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 66. 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 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
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 Stewart Paterson Individual · British · DOB 03/1960 · age 66 | 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.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · KW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRECK FARM LIMITED→ SC282508 · est 2005 | — | — | — | 100 | 21y | 83 | 59y |
| J & W TAIT LIMITED→ SC030430 · est 1954 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 71y | — | — |
| J STEVENSON & SON LIMITED→ SC420824 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| M MACKENZIE SERVICES LTD→ SC860867 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MILLENNIUM (ORKNEY) LTD→ SC466065 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ORKNEY SHELLFISH LIMITED→ SC138531 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
| REVELRY LIMITED→ SC412089 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ROWANPOINT LIMITED→ SC572720 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| S & I GLACKIN→ SC487755 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| S & J D ROBERTSON GROUP LIMITED→ SC070455 · est 1980 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 46y | — | — |
| SCOTT NORQUOY INSHORE FISHING LTD→ SC585668 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| SEA CHANCE LIMITED→ SC706337 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-05-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500
Registered office
Nessbreck
Harray
Orkney
KW17 2LQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-06
Last: 2025-05-23
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
ROSS, Fiona Jean Goodwin→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PATERSON, Colin Stewart→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TAIT, Eryn Jan→
Activedirector · ~34y · appointed 2023-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-05-23 · resigned 2003-05-23
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 Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Floating charge | 1 property | 23/08/2012 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (53 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-12