AVETON GIFFORD ASSOCIATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC268741 · ltd · incorporated 2004-06-03
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£348.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
56 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £348,471
Net assets shrinking
Down £124,218 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£348k
↓ 26% YoY
Current Assets
£356k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£97k£194k£291k£388k£485kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£348.5k£472.7k
Current assets£355.8k£484.9k
Net assets£348.5k£472.7k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  4. 2024-04-09
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2024-04-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2024-04-01
    ➕
    BANFORD, Lorna appointed
    director
  7. 2024-03-31
    ➖
    WHITING, Derek resigned
    director
  8. 2024-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-05-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2023-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-01-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-01-02
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  16. 2018-05-08
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  17. 2018-05-08
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  18. 2018-01-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2004-06-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AVETON GIFFORD ASSOCIATES LIMITED
  20. 2004-06-03
    ➕
    DODD, Fiona Margaret appointed
    secretary
  21. 2004-06-03
    ➕
    BANFORD, Hugh Malcolm appointed
    director
  22. 2004-06-03
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2004-06-03
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2004-06-03
    ➕
    WHITING, Derek appointed
    director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
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 67. 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Hugh Malcolm Banford
Individual · British · DOB 09/1959 · age 67
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Derek Whitingceased 31/03/2024· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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 →

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2004-06-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

Gartcolt Cottage
Gartgill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 2EQ
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-17
Last: 2025-06-03

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

DODD, Fiona Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2004-06-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BANFORD, Hugh Malcolm→
director · ~67y · appointed 2004-06-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BANFORD, Lorna→
director · ~64y · appointed 2024-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-06-03 · resigned 2004-06-03
Resigned
WHITING, Derek→
director · ~80y · appointed 2004-06-03 · resigned 2024-03-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-06
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-04-09
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-04-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-09