4L ENERGY LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC366919 · ltd · incorporated 2009-10-15
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 14.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£3.79M
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 35110
Sector: Electricity, gas & energy
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 14.6y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 14.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (82/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (4 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
39 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £3,794,280
Net assets shrinking
Down £88,505 YoY
Cash YoY
+30%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£2.6m
↑ 30% YoY
Net Worth
£3.8m
↓ 2.3% YoY
Current Assets
£2.9m
↑ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £6.80M | £6.50M |
| Current assets | £2.93M | £2.31M |
| Cash | £2.59M | £1.99M |
| Debtors | £339.5k | £322.6k |
| Net assets | £3.79M | £3.88M |
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 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-27📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-05-27📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2020-05-27📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2020-05-27📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-09-12🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2016-10-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-08-30🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Mark Christopher Lovie and Others
- 2009-10-15🏢Company incorporatedAs 4L ENERGY LIMITED
- 2009-10-15➕LOVIE, Doreen appointeddirector
- 2009-10-15➕LOVIE, Mark Christopher appointeddirector
- 2009-10-15➕LOVIE, Michael Walter appointeddirector
- 2009-10-15➕LOVIE, William Walter appointeddirector
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — 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 candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
4l Energy Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
4l Energy Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
4L ENERGY LIMITED
This company · SC366919
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
4l Energy Holdings Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 09/04/2020 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Lovie Group Limitedceased 09/04/2020· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
- Mr William Walter Lovieceased 26/03/2020· significant influence
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 →Similar companies
Active · Energy & utilities · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EIS WASTE SERVICES LIMITED→ SC254990 · est 2003 | £25.56M £18.40M–£32.71M | £17.10M | — | 11200 | 22y | 83 | 53y |
| CASTLE OF AUCHRY WINDFARM LIMITED→ SC364080 · est 2009 | — | — | £1.31M | — | 16y | 83 | 67y |
| BENZIES RENEWABLE POWER LTD.→ SC352727 · est 2008 | — | — | £3.02M | — | 17y | 82 | 70y |
| KILMARNOCK ENERGY CENTRE LIMITED→ SC766862 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ME1 SOLAR LTD→ SC787885 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| MELROSE WIND LIMITED→ SC510251 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| MGM UTILITY BROKER LTD→ SC881153 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| OFFSHORE ENERGY CONTRACTING SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC814141 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| S & C SECURITY AND ELECTRICAL LIMITED→ SC261336 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| SELN LIMITED→ SC396796 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| SHIELBOG ENERGY LIMITED→ SC430360 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| STEAM & AIR SERVICES LTD→ SC777009 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-10-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC35110 — SIC 35110
Registered office
Cowbog
New Pitsligo
Fraserburgh
Aberdeenshire
AB43 6PR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-29
Last: 2025-10-15
Officers (4 active · 0 resigned)
LOVIE, Doreen→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2009-10-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LOVIE, Mark Christopher→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2009-10-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LOVIE, Michael Walter→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2009-10-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LOVIE, William Walter→
Activedirector · ~77y · appointed 2009-10-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Mark Christopher Lovie and Others | Standard security | 1 property | 30/08/2011 | 12/09/2017 |
Recent filings (39 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-05-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2020-05-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2020-05-27