ALWAYS TRYING LTD
🌳Matureactive
SC389948 · ltd · incorporated 2010-12-06
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueDormant / non-trading with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
30 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-12-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-01-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-12-06🏢Company incorporatedAs ALWAYS TRYING LTD
- 2010-12-06➕JOHNSTON, Deirdre Munro appointeddirector
- 2010-12-06➕JOHNSTON, Mark Steven appointeddirector
Owner dependency
96/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Deirdre Munro Johnston Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Mark Steven Johnston Individual · British · DOB 10/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Holding company · ML postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 BEACON LTD→ SC558891 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AH INVEST LTD→ SC822474 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER TAYLOR (BAKERIES) LIMITED→ SC884641 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALEXANDER TAYLOR (PROPERTIES) LIMITED→ SC884642 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMI HAMILTON LIMITED→ SC794484 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANGUS DUNDEE (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→ SC122666 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| AQUILA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ SC553466 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BARRATT TRADE AND PROPERTY COMPANY LIMITED→ SC009489 · est 1915 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 110y | — | — |
| BARRATT WEST SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC037338 · est 1962 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 64y | — | — |
| BFI SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC736999 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BIG BEN SCOTCH WHISKY COMPANY LIMITED→ SC174257 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| BLUE STAR 101 LIMITED→ SC821004 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-12-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
Registered office
29 Brandon Street
Hamilton
South Lanarkshire
ML3 6DA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-20
Last: 2025-12-06
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
JOHNSTON, Deirdre Munro→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2010-12-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JOHNSTON, Mark Steven→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2010-12-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-04