WILLIAM DUNNET & COMPANY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC032246 · ltd · incorporated 1957-05-01
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 45200SIC 45200
  • 45320Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories
  • 47300Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 64). 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 55.6y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 55.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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

Company profile
address, 4 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
13 officers (4 active, 13 linked, 11 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
115 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Average employees182000

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-06-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2020-06-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2020-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-12-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2019-10-31
    ➖
    MACKAY, Ronald Morrison resigned
    director
  12. 2019-02-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2019-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-02-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-05-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2014-05-01
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, William appointed
    director
  18. 2013-02-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  19. 2012-11-21
    ➕
    GORDON, Angela appointed
    secretary
  20. 2012-11-21
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Barbara Gunn resigned
    secretary
  21. 2012-11-21
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Barbara Gunn resigned
    director
  22. 2012-08-09
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  23. 2011-02-01
    ➕
    GORDON, Angela Valentine appointed
    director
  24. 2002-06-14
    ➕
    MACKAY, Ronald Morrison appointed
    director
  25. 2002-03-28
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Donald Mackay resigned
    director
  26. 2002-02-08
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Hugh Donald appointed
    director
  27. 2002-02-07
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Alexander Leslie resigned
    director
  28. 2002-02-07
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Margaret Lyall resigned
    director
  29. 2001-03-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Fce Bank PLC
  30. 1997-04-07
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Alexander Leslie appointed
    director
  31. 1997-04-07
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Alexander Leslie resigned
    director
  32. 1997-04-07
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Edith Lyall resigned
    director
  33. 1997-04-07
    ➕
    SUTHERLAND, Margaret Lyall appointed
    director
  34. 1997-04-07
    ➖
    SUTHERLAND, Margaret Lyall resigned
    director
  35. 1980-08-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: B P Oil LTD
  36. 1970-11-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Shell and B P Scotland Limited
  37. 1957-05-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WILLIAM DUNNET & COMPANY LIMITED

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 69 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Group structure

Blp 2001-58 Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Blp 2001-58 Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
WILLIAM DUNNET & COMPANY LIMITED
This company · SC032246

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

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Blp 2001-58 Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Hugh Donald Sutherland
Individual · British · DOB 08/1962 · age 64
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated1957-05-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45111 — Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles

Registered office

Mansons Lane
Thurso
Caithness
KW14 8EW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-22
Last: 2026-04-08

Officers (4 active · 9 resigned)

GORDON, Angela→
secretary · appointed 2012-11-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GORDON, Angela Valentine→
director · ~58y · appointed 2011-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Hugh Donald→
director · ~64y · appointed 2002-02-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, William→
director · ~53y · appointed 2014-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SUTHERLAND, Barbara Gunn→
secretary · resigned 2012-11-21
Resigned
MACKAY, Ronald Morrison→
director · ~80y · appointed 2002-06-14 · resigned 2019-10-31
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Alexander Leslie→
director · ~67y · appointed 1997-04-07 · resigned 2002-02-07
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Alexander Leslie→
director · ~67y · resigned 1997-04-07
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Barbara Gunn→
director · ~89y · resigned 2012-11-21
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Donald Mackay→
director · ~93y · resigned 2002-03-28
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Edith Lyall→
director · ~115y · resigned 1997-04-07
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Margaret Lyall→
director · ~96y · appointed 1997-04-07 · resigned 2002-02-07
Resigned
SUTHERLAND, Margaret Lyall→
director · ~96y · resigned 1997-04-07
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
outstanding
Fce Bank
Fce Bank PLC
Bond & floating charge3 properties23/03/2001—
satisfied
B P Oil
B P Oil LTD
Standard security1 property27/08/198009/08/2012
satisfied
Shell and B P Scotland
Shell and B P Scotland Limited
Minute of agreement & disposition1 property27/11/197016/02/2013
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (115 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-06-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-06-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-25