CLASSIC TRACTOR SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC498839 · ltd · incorporated 2015-02-25
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 33120Repair of machinery
  • 33170SIC 33170
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (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, 3 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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
23 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
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 accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
-£42k-£29k-£17k-£5k£8k£20kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-02-282024-02-29
Total assets£73.2k
Current assets£20.3k
Net assets£-41.8k
Average employees100

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (15 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-03-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-03-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-03-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-03-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-02-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2016-01-28
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  13. 2015-02-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CLASSIC TRACTOR SERVICES LTD
  14. 2015-02-25
    MCDONALD, Ian appointed
    director
  15. 2015-02-25
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

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 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

50/100
Moderate signal

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

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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Ian Mcdonald
Individual · British · DOB 02/1971 · age 55
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · AB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
CHAPELTON AGRICULTURE LTD
SC651560 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
6y
CHRISTIE-ELITE NURSERIES LIMITED
SC056516 · est 1974 · no financials extracted
51y
CLG FISHING LTD
SC605051 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
7y
CLUNY HOME FARMS LIMITED
SC050537 · est 1972 · no financials extracted
53y
CM TREE SERVICES LIMITED
SC740030 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
3y
COASTAL BOY LTD.
SC595352 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
7y
COLDSTREAM SCOTLAND LIMITED
SC400171 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
14y
COWIE FARMS LTD.
SC226333 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
24y
COX CONTRACTING SERVICES LTD
SC608373 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
7y
CRAIG NICOLL TIMBER LIMITED
SC309466 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
19y
CRAIGELLACHIE FISHINGS LIMITED
SC082325 · est 1983 · no financials extracted
43y
CRAIGHARR STABLES LIMITED
SC747214 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
3y
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
Incorporated2015-02-25
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production

Registered office

Sunnyside
Crossroads
Keith
Banffshire
AB55 6LR
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-11
Last: 2026-02-25

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

MCDONALD, Ian
director · ~55y · appointed 2015-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (23 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-02-25