A. JOHNSTONE HAULAGE LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC283850 · ltd · incorporated 2005-04-26
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
£512.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 20.4y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 20.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
65 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £512,213
Cash draining
Cash down 42% YoY
Cash YoY
-42%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£67k
↓ 42% YoY
Net Worth
£512k
↑ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£434k
↓ 11% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£102k£205k£307k£410k£512kMar 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£1.36M£1.27M
Current assets£433.6k£485.3k
Cash£67.2k£115.3k
Debtors£355.4k£361.6k
Net assets£512.2k£464.3k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-23
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  5. 2022-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-06-14
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2019-06-14
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2019-06-14
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2019-06-14
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2019-06-14
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2018-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-03-12
    ➕
    JOHNSTONE, Edith appointed
    director
  17. 2014-02-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  18. 2012-01-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Aldermore Invoice Finance
  19. 2008-04-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2005-11-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  21. 2005-04-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A. JOHNSTONE HAULAGE LTD.
  22. 2005-04-26
    ➕
    JOHNSTONE, Edith appointed
    secretary
  23. 2005-04-26
    ➕
    JOHNSTONE, Archibald appointed
    director
  24. 2005-04-26
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2005-04-26
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2005-04-26
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2005-04-26
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2005-04-26
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 2005-04-26
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

99/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "JOHNSTONE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +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
  • 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 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Miss Heather Johnstone
Individual · British · DOB 07/2001 · age 25
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control01/01/2023
Mr Archibald Johnstone
Individual · British · DOB 06/1967 · age 59
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Edith Johnstone
Individual · British · DOB 02/1964 · age 62
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2005-04-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road

Registered office

16 Inchmuir Road
Whitehill Industrial Estate
Bathgate
West Lothian
EH48 2EP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-28
Last: 2025-11-14

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

JOHNSTONE, Edith→
secretary · appointed 2005-04-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTONE, Archibald→
director · ~59y · appointed 2005-04-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTONE, Edith→
director · ~62y · appointed 2014-03-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-04-26 · resigned 2005-04-26
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-04-26 · resigned 2005-04-26
Resigned
PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-04-26 · resigned 2005-04-26
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Aldermore
Aldermore Invoice Finance
Floating charge1 property31/01/2012—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property08/04/2008—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property15/11/200504/02/2014
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (65 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-23
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-31