ALISTER I SUTHERLAND & SON LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC251405 · ltd · incorporated 2003-06-18
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
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
£40.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 79). 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
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 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
57 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 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £40,056

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£40k
↑ 29% YoY
Current Assets
£39k
↓ 18% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£9k£19k£28k£38k£47kAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£40.1k£31.1k
Current assets£38.6k£46.9k
Net assets£40.1k£31.1k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-05-31
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  10. 2017-08-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2017-07-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2017-07-04
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2017-06-21
    ➕
    RITCHIE, David appointed
    director
  14. 2017-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-06-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-06-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2014-09-01
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Rosalie Helen Spencer resigned
    secretary
  19. 2009-09-04
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Ross Alister Spencer appointed
    director
  20. 2003-06-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALISTER I SUTHERLAND & SON LTD.
  21. 2003-06-18
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Alister Ian appointed
    director
  22. 2003-06-18
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Rosalie Helen Spencer appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-06-18
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-06-18
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-06-18
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2003-06-18
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

98/100
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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SUTHERLAND" — 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 79 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Alister Ian Sutherland
Individual · British · DOB 03/1947 · age 79
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated2003-06-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

10 Knockbreck Street
Tain
Ross Shire
IV19 1BJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-30
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-28
Last: 2025-05-14

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

RITCHIE, David→
director · ~48y · appointed 2017-06-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Alister Ian→
director · ~79y · appointed 2003-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Ross Alister Spencer→
director · ~48y · appointed 2009-09-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Rosalie Helen Spencer→
secretary · appointed 2003-06-18 · resigned 2014-09-01
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-06-18 · resigned 2003-06-18
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-06-18 · resigned 2003-06-18
Resigned

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

Recent filings (57 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-08-31