AULD ALLIANCE TRADING COMPANY LIMITED
Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 17.9y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 17.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-10-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-06-05📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-06-05🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2024-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-26📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2018-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-14➖COCKBURN, Karen Anne resigneddirector
- 2017-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2008-05-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2008-02-27🏢Company incorporatedAs AULD ALLIANCE TRADING COMPANY LIMITED
- 2008-02-27➕COCKBURN, Robert David appointedsecretary
- 2008-02-27➕COCKBURN, Robert David appointeddirector
- 2008-02-27➕COCKBURN, Karen Anne appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
1 lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert David Cockburn Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 27/02/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 23/05/2008 | 05/06/2025 |