ARDFERN LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC323936 · ltd · incorporated 2007-05-17
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
—
year to Jun 2024
Net worth
£517.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
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 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 18.5y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
51 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 £517,829
Cash YoY
+11%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£480k
↑ 11% YoY
Net Worth
£518k
↑ 7.4% YoY
Current Assets
£609k
↑ 6.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£122k£243k£365k£487k£609kJun 2023Jun 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-06-302023-06-30
Total assets£530.2k£482.2k
Current assets£608.6k£571.5k
Cash£480.2k£431.8k
Debtors£128.4k£139.7k
Net assets£517.8k£482.2k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-07
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  2. 2026-04-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2025-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-08-28
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  6. 2024-08-27
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  7. 2024-05-28
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  8. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-03-30
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2022-03-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
  12. 2021-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-05-31
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2007-11-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Aib Group (UK) PLC
  19. 2007-05-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARDFERN LIMITED
  20. 2007-05-17
    ➕
    TELFORD, Patricia appointed
    secretary
  21. 2007-05-17
    ➕
    TELFORD, James Mackie appointed
    director
  22. 2007-05-17
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2007-05-17
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2007-05-17
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2007-05-17
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2007-05-17
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2007-05-17
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. 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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Patricia Telford
Individual · British · DOB 02/1956 · age 70
25–50%
—25-50% shares17/05/2024
Mr James Mackie Telford
Individual · British · DOB 04/1955 · age 71
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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————2y——
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———————
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————2y——
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
Incorporated2007-05-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.

Registered office

Stanley House
69/71 Hamilton Road
Motherwell
ML1 3DG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last: 2025-05-17

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

TELFORD, Patricia→
secretary · appointed 2007-05-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TELFORD, James Mackie→
director · ~71y · appointed 2007-05-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-05-17 · resigned 2007-05-17
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-05-17 · resigned 2007-05-17
Resigned
PETER TRAINER CORPORATE SERVICES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-05-17 · resigned 2007-05-17
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—25/03/2022—
outstanding
Aib Group (UK)
Aib Group (UK) PLC
Floating charge1 property05/11/2007—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (51 total)

change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2026-04-07
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-20
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-08-28
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-28
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-17
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-29