BEN ALDER ESTATE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC333993 · ltd · incorporated 2007-11-15
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-13.85M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other accommodation
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 84). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -64% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
53 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
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £13,847,474
Cash draining
Cash down 64% YoY
Cash YoY
-64%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£608
↓ 64% YoY
Net Worth
-£14m
↓ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£273k
↑ 19% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£14m-£11m-£8.2m-£5.4m-£2.6m£273kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£4.74M£4.74M
Current assets£272.6k£229.4k
Cash£608£1.7k
Debtors£160.5k£131.7k
Net assets£-13.85M£-11.89M

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-03
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  2. 2025-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-10-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-10-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-07-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2017-07-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2017-07-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  14. 2016-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-06-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-06-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2014-04-16
    ➕
    DICK MBE, Alexander David, Major (Retired) appointed
    secretary
  18. 2014-04-16
    ➕
    DICK, Alexander David appointed
    director
  19. 2014-04-16
    ➖
    THOMPSON, Patrick resigned
    secretary
  20. 2014-04-16
    ➖
    THOMPSON, Patrick resigned
    director
  21. 2010-03-22
    ➖
    DOBLER, Xavier resigned
    secretary
  22. 2010-03-22
    ➕
    THOMPSON, Patrick appointed
    secretary
  23. 2007-11-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BEN ALDER ESTATE LIMITED
  24. 2007-11-15
    ➕
    KOHLI, Ulrich appointed
    director
  25. 2007-11-15
    ➕
    DOBLER, Xavier appointed
    secretary
  26. 2007-11-15
    ➕
    THOMPSON, Patrick appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 84 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

89/100
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 84 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Dr Guido Urbach
Individual · Swiss · DOB 11/1973 · age 53
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest27/06/2017
Mr Alexander David Dick
Individual · British · DOB 09/1970 · age 56
——sig. influencesignificant influence27/06/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Dr Ulrich Kohliceased 10/11/2025· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2007-11-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC55900 — Other accommodation

Registered office

The Estate Office
Ben Alder Estate
Dalwhinnie
PH19 1AE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-24
Last: 2025-06-10

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

DICK MBE, Alexander David, Major (Retired)→
secretary · appointed 2014-04-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DICK, Alexander David→
director · ~56y · appointed 2014-04-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KOHLI, Ulrich→
director · ~84y · appointed 2007-11-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOBLER, Xavier→
secretary · appointed 2007-11-15 · resigned 2010-03-22
Resigned
THOMPSON, Patrick→
secretary · appointed 2010-03-22 · resigned 2014-04-16
Resigned
THOMPSON, Patrick→
director · ~65y · appointed 2007-11-15 · resigned 2014-04-16
Resigned

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

Recent filings (53 total)

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-03