J.E. DOUGLAS & SONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC272362 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-24

Investment thesis

Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.

Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.

Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£1.16M

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

84 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £1,159,776

Net assets shrinking

Down £73,284 YoY

Cash YoY

+17%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£969k

↑ 17% YoY

Net Worth

£1.2m

↓ 5.9% YoY

Current Assets

£1.2m

↓ 2.4% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£1.17M	£1.24M
Current assets	£1.20M	£1.23M
Cash	£968.6k	£824.8k
Debtors	£224.3k	£310.0k
Net assets	£1.16M	£1.23M

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

filing

• 1 officers

Last 180 days

filings

• 3 capital
• 2 officers
• 1 persons-with-significant-control

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand

2026-03-04
➖
DOUGLAS, Janet resigned
director
2026-03-04
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-11
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-02-02
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-02-02
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2025-12-05
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-12-05
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-30
➖
DOUGLAS, Raymond Alexander resigned
director
2025-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-05-07
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2025-05-07
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2025-03-24
➖
DOUGLAS, Brian James resigned
director
2025-03-24
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-07-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-12
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-02-12
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-12
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-15
➕
BRYDON, Douglas appointed
director
2021-06-15
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-11-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2004-08-24
🏢
Company incorporated
As J.E. DOUGLAS & SONS LIMITED
2004-08-24
➕
FOSTER, Susan Kerr appointed
secretary
2004-08-24
➕
FOSTER, Susan Kerr appointed
director
2004-08-24
➕
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-24
➖
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-24
➕
DOUGLAS, Brian James appointed
director
2004-08-24
➕
DOUGLAS, Janet appointed
director
2004-08-24
➕
DOUGLAS, Raymond Alexander appointed
director
2004-08-24
➕
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-08-24
➖
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

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.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
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.
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

1 med ·

2 director resignations in last 12 months

medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: DOUGLAS, Janet resigned 2026-03-04; DOUGLAS, Raymond Alexander resigned 2025-11-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Susan Kerr Foster Individual · British · DOB 03/1964 · age 62	25–50%	25–50%	board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control	06/04/2016

2 historic (ceased) PSCs

Mr Raymond Alexander Douglasceased 30/11/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
Mr Brian James Douglasceased 24/03/2025· 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.

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MAXWELL MOTORS LIMITED→ SC257385 · est 2003	—	—	£3.15M	—	22y	83	89y
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KEN HOPE (KELSO) LIMITED→ SC277224 · est 2004	—	—	£877.0k	—	21y	82	82y
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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

Incorporated2004-08-24

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

J E Douglas & Sons Limited

Industrial Estate

Station Road, Duns

Berwickshire

TD11 3HS

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-07

Last: 2025-08-24

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

FOSTER, Susan Kerr→

secretary · appointed 2004-08-24

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRYDON, Douglas→

director · ~39y · appointed 2021-06-15

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FOSTER, Susan Kerr→

director · ~62y · appointed 2004-08-24

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-24 · resigned 2004-08-24

Resigned

DOUGLAS, Brian James→

director · ~68y · appointed 2004-08-24 · resigned 2025-03-24

Resigned

DOUGLAS, Janet→

director · ~94y · appointed 2004-08-24 · resigned 2026-03-04

Resigned

DOUGLAS, Raymond Alexander→

director · ~66y · appointed 2004-08-24 · resigned 2025-11-30

Resigned

COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-24 · resigned 2004-08-24

Resigned

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

Recent filings (84 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2026-03-04

capital-allotment-shares

capital · SH01

2026-02-11

capital-cancellation-shares

capital · SH06

2026-02-02

capital-return-purchase-own-shares

capital · SH03

2026-02-02

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC07

2025-12-05

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2025-12-05

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-08-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-05-30

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC07

2025-05-12

capital-cancellation-shares

capital · SH06

2025-05-07

capital-return-purchase-own-shares

capital · SH03

2025-05-07

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2025-03-24

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-09-03

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-07-16

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2024-02-12