ILLUSTRIOUS FISHING LTD.
🌳Matureactive
SC483437 · ltd · incorporated 2014-08-01
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£100
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 03110
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 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
22 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £100
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£100
~ YoY
Net Worth
£100
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £100 | £100 |
| Cash | £100 | £100 |
| Net assets | £100 | £100 |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (15 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-05📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-08-01🏢Company incorporatedAs ILLUSTRIOUS FISHING LTD.
- 2014-08-01➕HAY, John appointeddirector
- 2014-08-01➕HAY, Veira Sinclair appointeddirector
- 2014-08-01📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
78/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — 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
61/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Hay Individual · British · DOB 09/1958 · age 68 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Veira Sinclair Hay Individual · British · DOB 04/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · KW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J & W TAIT LIMITED→ SC030430 · est 1954 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 71y | — | — |
| J STEVENSON & SON LIMITED→ SC420824 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| M MACKENZIE SERVICES LTD→ SC860867 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MAESQUOY FARMS LIMITED→ SC343177 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| MELSETTER FARMS LTD→ SC668382 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| MILLENNIUM (ORKNEY) LTD→ SC466065 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| NORTH SUTHERLAND COMMUNITY FORESTRY TRUST→ SC161610 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| NOSS FARM LTD→ SC246220 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| OLGRINMORE FOREST LTD→ SC398988 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ORKNEY BERE LTD→ SC800938 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ORKNEY CBD LTD.→ SC812660 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ORKNEY DIVED SCALLOPS LTD→ SC456964 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-08-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC03110 — SIC 03110
Registered office
Maynrys
Hatston Park
Kirkwall
Orkney
KW15 1UB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-15
Last: 2025-08-01
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
HAY, Veira Sinclair→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2014-08-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (22 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-08-06