AINSLEY SMITH & CO LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC414111 · ltd · incorporated 2012-01-09
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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 (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
41 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£83k£165k£248k£331k£414kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets—£413.6k
Current assets—£250.1k
Net assets—£413.6k
Average employees10—

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2022-05-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2021-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-11-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-02-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-02-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-03-22
    ➕
    SMITH, Jamie appointed
    director
  17. 2012-03-20
    ➕
    AINSLEY, Jean Helen May appointed
    secretary
  18. 2012-03-20
    ➕
    AINSLEY, Jean Helen May appointed
    director
  19. 2012-03-20
    ➖
    MACPHEE & PARTNERS resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 2012-03-20
    ➖
    BELL, Jonathan Richard Miles resigned
    director
  21. 2012-03-20
    ➖
    MACPHEE NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  22. 2012-01-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AINSLEY SMITH & CO LIMITED
  23. 2012-01-09
    ➕
    MACPHEE & PARTNERS appointed
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2012-01-09
    ➕
    BELL, Jonathan Richard Miles appointed
    director
  25. 2012-01-09
    ➕
    MACPHEE NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

88/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "AINSLEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. 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 14 years.
  • 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
Mrs Jean Helen May Ainsley
Individual · British · DOB 05/1961 · age 65
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016
Mr Jamie Smith
Individual · Scottish · DOB 11/1976 · age 50
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/11/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2012-01-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

21 Argyll Square
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4AT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-25
Last: 2025-05-11

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

AINSLEY, Jean Helen May→
secretary · appointed 2012-03-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
AINSLEY, Jean Helen May→
director · ~65y · appointed 2012-03-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Jamie→
director · ~50y · appointed 2012-03-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACPHEE & PARTNERS→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2012-01-09 · resigned 2012-03-20
Resigned
BELL, Jonathan Richard Miles→
director · ~55y · appointed 2012-01-09 · resigned 2012-03-20
Resigned
MACPHEE NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2012-01-09 · resigned 2012-03-20
Resigned

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

Recent filings (41 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-22