MONTROSE SCOTCH WHISKY LTD.

💤Zombieactive
01110907 · ltd · incorporated 1973-04-30
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
£2.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 11010
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 44.8y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 44.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
114 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £2,500

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£3k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£3k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£500£1k£2k£2k£3kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£2.5k£2.5k
Current assets£2.5k£2.5k
Debtors£2.5k£2.5k
Net assets£2.5k£2.5k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-31
    ➖
    MCSHERRY, Gerrard resigned
    secretary
  3. 2025-03-31
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2024-10-09
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  5. 2024-10-09
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2024-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-01-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2018-05-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-05-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-11-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2014-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  18. 2014-12-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  19. 2009-09-05
    ➖
    DOLVERS, Gunter resigned
    director
  20. 2008-04-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  21. 2006-06-01
    ➕
    MCSHERRY, Gerrard appointed
    secretary
  22. 2006-05-31
    ➕
    BARCLAY, Colin Shields appointed
    director
  23. 2006-05-31
    ➖
    DOLVERS, Gunter resigned
    secretary
  24. 2006-05-31
    ➖
    DOLVERS, Iwona resigned
    director
  25. 1986-05-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  26. 1981-09-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  27. 1973-04-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MONTROSE SCOTCH WHISKY LTD.

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 53 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • 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.)

Group structure

John Maclaren And Sons Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
John Maclaren And Sons Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
MONTROSE SCOTCH WHISKY LTD.
This company · 01110907

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
John Maclaren And Sons Ltd
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares30/09/2024
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Jg Distillers Ltdceased 30/09/2024· 75-100% shares

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

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
MOGUNTIA FOOD INGREDIENTS UK LIMITED→
02363812 · est 1989
£3.40M
£2.51M–£4.30M
——11837y9368y
ISTANBUL MEATS LIMITED→
04252645 · est 2001
——£2.93M—24y8168y
MEAT ZONE UK LIMITED→
04418539 · est 2002
———724y8172y
A.D.C. HALFORD & COMPANY LIMITED→
03680940 · est 1998
——£2—27y8068y
DURHAM FOODS LIMITED→
04795412 · est 2003
——£666.4k—23y8062y
HART BROTHERS LIMITED→
02700955 · est 1992
——£0—34y7968y
LANCHESTER DAIRIES LIMITED→
02937458 · est 1994 · no financials extracted
————32y7973y
DENTS BAKERY LTD→
09473844 · est 2015
——£148.5k—11y7866y
COFFEE RANI LTD→
16681116 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
LOVE AT FIRST BITE BAKERY LTD→
15385721 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
MILLARD FOOD COMPANY LIMITED→
15770556 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
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————2y——
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
Incorporated1973-04-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC11010 — SIC 11010

Registered office

4 Millfield Close
Millfield Close
Chester Le Street
County Durham
DH2 3HZ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-19
Last: 2025-10-05

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

BARCLAY, Colin Shields→
director · ~68y · appointed 2006-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOLVERS, Gunter→
secretary · resigned 2006-05-31
Resigned
MCSHERRY, Gerrard→
secretary · appointed 2006-06-01 · resigned 2025-03-31
Resigned
DOLVERS, Gunter→
director · ~89y · resigned 2009-09-05
Resigned
DOLVERS, Iwona→
director · ~79y · resigned 2006-05-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property28/04/200824/12/2014
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Charge1 property23/05/198624/12/2014
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property14/09/1981—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (114 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2024-10-09
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-08-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-08-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-13