A & D BLACKSMITHS LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC458567 · ltd · incorporated 2013-09-06
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£548
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle 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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -42% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. 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 (2 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
48 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £548
Net assets shrinking
Down £23,627 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 42% YoY
Cash YoY
-42%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£7k
↓ 42% YoY
Net Worth
£548
↓ 98% YoY
Current Assets
£18k
↓ 55% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£8k£16k£24k£32k£40kSept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Total assets£5.6k£32.6k
Current assets£18.2k£40.4k
Cash£7.3k£12.6k
Debtors£11.0k£25.3k
Net assets£548£24.2k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2023-06-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2023-06-27
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2023-06-27
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2023-06-27
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2023-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-09-03
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2021-09-03
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2021-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-05-13
    ➕
    MCLACHLAN, Amanda appointed
    director
  14. 2021-05-13
    ➖
    MCLACHLAN, Andrew resigned
    director
  15. 2020-10-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2020-10-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2020-10-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2020-10-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  19. 2020-10-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  20. 2020-09-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  21. 2020-09-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  22. 2016-10-01
    ➕
    MCLACHLAN, Andrew appointed
    director
  23. 2013-09-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A & D BLACKSMITHS LTD.
  24. 2013-09-06
    ➕
    MCLACHLAN, Douglas appointed
    director

Owner dependency

66/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

49/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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

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
Mr Douglas Mclachlan
Individual · British · DOB 03/1970 · age 56
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mrs Amanda Mclachlan
Individual · British · DOB 08/1971 · age 55
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting17/08/2017

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated2013-09-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.

Registered office

3e Wallace House
Maxwell Place
Stirling
FK8 1JU
Scotland

Filing status

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

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

MCLACHLAN, Amanda→
director · ~55y · appointed 2021-05-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCLACHLAN, Douglas→
director · ~56y · appointed 2013-09-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCLACHLAN, Andrew→
director · ~30y · appointed 2016-10-01 · resigned 2021-05-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (48 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-12
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-09-03