MBT ENGINEERING AND FABRICATION LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC439474 · ltd · incorporated 2012-12-31
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No material changes in the last 90 days.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£73.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
70/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 03110
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 70/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 9.0y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 9.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
38 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
70/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £73,090

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£73k
↑ 2.6% YoY
Current Assets
£4k
↑ 54% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£15k£29k£44k£58k£73kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£27.5k£21.9k
Current assets£3.9k£2.5k
Net assets£73.1k£71.2k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-04-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2023-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-05-05
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2021-05-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-07-15
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  9. 2020-07-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  10. 2020-06-24
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2020-06-18
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  12. 2020-06-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  13. 2020-06-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  14. 2020-05-26
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  15. 2020-05-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  16. 2020-05-18
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  17. 2020-05-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
  18. 2020-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  19. 2019-05-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  20. 2018-08-30
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  21. 2018-08-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  22. 2018-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  23. 2017-07-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  24. 2012-12-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MBT ENGINEERING AND FABRICATION LTD
  25. 2012-12-31
    ➕
    THAIN, Mark appointed
    director

Owner dependency

80/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

58/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

1 low
5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Thain
Individual · British · DOB 09/1972 · age 54
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
BRECK FARM LIMITED→
SC282508 · est 2005
———121y8359y
ORKNEY SHELLFISH LIMITED→
SC138531 · est 1992
——£174.7k—34y8361y
TORRISH ESTATES COMPANY LIMITED→
SC024394 · est 1946
——£328.2k—79y8387y
BINSCARTH LIMITED→
SC251665 · est 2003
———022y8270y
CELTIC DAWN FISHING LIMITED→
SC263213 · est 2004
——£2.01M—22y8262y
E S H HARCUS LIMITED→
SC375460 · est 2010
———60016y8278y
ERLEND FLETT PLANT HIRE→
SC081510 · est 1983 · no financials extracted
————43y8281y
FORSE FARMS LTD→
SC388765 · est 2010
——£561.7k—15y8272y
GEORTH FARMS→
SC270361 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
————22y8278y
LAGA FARMS LIMITED→
SC241028 · est 2002
———223y8264y
S & J D ROBERTSON GROUP LIMITED→
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———50046y8275y
GILLS HARBOUR LTD→
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——£85.7k—16y8167y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated2012-12-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC03110 — SIC 03110

Registered office

Elzy Farm Elzy Farm
Staxigoe
Wick
Caithness
KW1 4QY
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-20
Last: 2025-11-06

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

THAIN, Mark→
director · ~54y · appointed 2012-12-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

6
Total charges
5
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
A registered charge—14/07/2020—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
A registered charge—04/06/2020—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property04/06/2020—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—14/05/2020—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property24/08/2018—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—18/07/201726/05/2020
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (38 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-05
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-28
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-07-15
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-06-24