UNIVERSAL EDUCATION & TRAINING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC261812 · ltd · incorporated 2004-01-13

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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.

Sector: Education

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (53/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

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

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

52 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

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

Good data coverage for analysis.

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 (24 events)Click to expand

2025-07-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-08-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-10-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-10-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-01-31
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-09-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-02-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-10-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-01-22
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2004-01-13
🏢
Company incorporated
As UNIVERSAL EDUCATION & TRAINING LIMITED
2004-01-13
➕
JOHNSTONE, Wendy Muriel appointed
secretary
2004-01-13
➕
SUTTON, John Stuart appointed
director
2004-01-13
➕
COSEC LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-01-13
➖
COSEC LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-01-13
➕
CODIR LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-01-13
➖
CODIR LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2004-01-13
➕
COSEC LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-01-13
➖
COSEC LIMITED resigned
corporate-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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

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 78 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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 John Stuart Sutton Individual · British · DOB 10/1948 · age 78	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 · Education & training · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
FRIENDS OF PORTENCROSS CASTLE→ SC186097 · est 1998	—	—	£83.5k	—	27y	83	79y
GALLOWAY TRAINING LIMITED→ SC121428 · est 1989 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	36y	83	79y
WELLINGTON SCHOOL (AYR) LIMITED→ SC026589 · est 1948	—	—	£4.21M	—	77y	83	82y
MINDSTORE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ SC270146 · est 2004	—	—	£1.16M	—	21y	82	71y
RAINBOW COTTAGE NURSERY LIMITED→ SC282206 · est 2005	—	—	—	30	21y	82	78y
BENSLIE TRAINING LIMITED→ SC365040 · est 2009	—	—	—	—	16y	81	62y
THE YOUNG PROGRAMME LIMITED→ SC282589 · est 2005	—	—	£152.1k	—	21y	81	68y
CRAIGHEAD NURSERIES LTD→ SC521313 · est 2015	—	—	£89.8k	—	10y	80	75y
SMART SOLUTIONS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC262136 · est 2004	—	—	£834	—	22y	80	62y
CRAIGIE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→ SC094927 · est 1985	—	—	—	0	40y	79	89y
THE LITTLE ART SCHOOL GLASGOW LIMITED→ SC526953 · est 2016	—	—	—	2	10y	79	59y
UCAN LEARN.WORK.LIVE LTD→ SC427199 · est 2012	—	—	£233.5k	—	13y	79	65y

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

Incorporated2004-01-13

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.

Registered office

83 Bank Street

Irvine

Ayrshire

KA12 0PT

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-04

Last: 2026-01-21

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

JOHNSTONE, Wendy Muriel→

secretary · appointed 2004-01-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SUTTON, John Stuart→

director · ~78y · appointed 2004-01-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COSEC LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-01-13 · resigned 2004-01-13

Resigned

CODIR LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-01-13 · resigned 2004-01-13

Resigned

COSEC LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-01-13 · resigned 2004-01-13

Resigned

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