HEBRIDES CRUISES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC475990 · ltd · incorporated 2014-04-24
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Tour operator activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). 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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)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
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
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
25 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 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 | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|
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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-05-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-05-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-05-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-04-24🏢Company incorporatedAs HEBRIDES CRUISES LIMITED
- 2014-04-24➕BARLOW, Robert Barry appointeddirector
- 2014-04-24📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
95/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert Barry Barlow Individual · British · DOB 04/1954 · age 72 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2017 |
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 · Leisure & entertainment · KA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JIM WILMER EQUESTRIAN LTD→ SC534333 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| KELBURN ARTS LTD→ SC524594 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| KILBIRNIE AULD KIRK FUTURE GROUP LTD→ SC882353 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LENDALFOOT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LIMITED→ SC289259 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| LINKS UNSEEN LIMITED→ SC878133 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| LUCKY HAGGIS COMPETITION'S LTD→ SC858089 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| M & L ENTERPRISES SCOTLAND LTD→ SC572799 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| NOCTURNE PRODUCTIONS LTD→ SC729982 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| NORTH STAR DANCE STUDIO LTD→ SC851117 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PARTNER PHYSICAL THERAPY LIMITED→ SC800907 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| POETIC JUSTICE PRODUCTIONS CIC→ SC591414 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| PRIMA PERFORMING ARTS LTD→ SC857665 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-04-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC79120 — Tour operator activities
Registered office
37 Portland Road
Kilmarnock
Ayrshire
KA1 2DJ
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-07
Last: 2025-04-23
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
BARLOW, Robert Barry→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2014-04-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (25 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-01-21