A J SPENCE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC343753 · ltd · incorporated 2008-06-02
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£538.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 75). 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
49 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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £538,102

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£538k
↑ 8.4% YoY
Current Assets
£396k
↓ 18% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£108k£215k£323k£430k£538kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£538.1k£496.4k
Current assets£395.9k£480.4k
Net assets£538.1k£496.4k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-08-20
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2020-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-07-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-06-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-06-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2008-06-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A J SPENCE LIMITED
  18. 2008-06-02
    ➕
    SPENCE, Margaret Irving appointed
    secretary
  19. 2008-06-02
    ➕
    SPENCE, Iain Alexander appointed
    director
  20. 2008-06-02
    ➕
    SPENCE, John Slora appointed
    director
  21. 2008-06-02
    ➕
    SPENCE, Margaret Irving appointed
    director
  22. 2008-06-02
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2008-06-02
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2008-06-02
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-director
  25. 2008-06-02
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

98/100
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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SPENCE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

83/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Slora Spence
Individual · British · DOB 11/1951 · age 75
25–50%
—25-50% shares02/06/2017
Mr Iain Alexander Spence
Individual · British · DOB 07/1981 · age 45
25–50%
—25-50% shares02/06/2017

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

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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
Incorporated2008-06-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

89a South Street
Milnathort
Kinross
Perth & Kinross
KY13 9XB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-15
Last: 2025-06-01

Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)

SPENCE, Margaret Irving→
secretary · appointed 2008-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, Iain Alexander→
director · ~45y · appointed 2008-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, John Slora→
director · ~75y · appointed 2008-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SPENCE, Margaret Irving→
director · ~73y · appointed 2008-06-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-06-02 · resigned 2008-06-02
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-director · appointed 2008-06-02 · resigned 2008-06-02
Resigned

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

Recent filings (49 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-30
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2020-08-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-12-18