MASSON CAIRNS LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC443230 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-20
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Solicitors
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 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
46 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 800 | 700 |
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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-14📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-09-10➖DOLLMAN, Katharine Jane resigneddirector
- 2021-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-08📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2016-05-26📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2016-05-26📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2016-05-06📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2015-12-31➕DOLLMAN, Katharine Jane appointeddirector
- 2015-12-31➖MASSON, Neil Fraser resigneddirector
- 2013-02-20🏢Company incorporatedAs MASSON CAIRNS LTD
- 2013-02-20➕ANDERSON, Katharine Jennifer appointeddirector
- 2013-02-20➕MASSON, Neil Fraser appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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 13 years.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Katharine Jennifer Anderson Individual · British · DOB 09/1975 · age 51 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA COOPERATIVE LTD→ SC727437 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PHOENIX ACCOUNTANCY & BOOKKEEPING LTD→ SC652533 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| POSITIVE ASSET FINANCE LTD→ SC881982 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| POTTER INNOVATION LTD→ SC512772 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| PYTHO LTD→ SC638264 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| R. TAYLOR ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ SC191890 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| RABS80 LTD→ SC622236 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| RANNOCH G ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC810022 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| RESTFUL PAWS LTD→ SC864098 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| RJDA CONSULTING LIMITED→ SC223151 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| RKS DESIGN LTD→ SC854534 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| RLUW SERVICES LTD→ SC562950 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-02-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69102 — Solicitors
Registered office
Strathspey House
36 High Street
Grantown-On-Spey
PH26 3EQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-06
Last: 2026-02-20
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
ANDERSON, Katharine Jennifer→
Activedirector · ~51y · appointed 2013-02-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOLLMAN, Katharine Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~41y · appointed 2015-12-31 · resigned 2021-09-10
MASSON, Neil Fraser→
Resigneddirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-02-20 · resigned 2015-12-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (46 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-21
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-02-25