DUNOON CERAMICS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC054864 · ltd · incorporated 1974-01-15
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 52.0y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 23410
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 52.0y

50/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 52.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (55/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
3 charges (2/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
84
Directors & officers
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
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
118 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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-08-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-03-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2017-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-09-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-09-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2012-05-29
    ➕
    TUNNICLIFF, Helena Claire appointed
    secretary
  16. 2012-05-29
    ➖
    BAGSHAW, Derrick Basil resigned
    secretary
  17. 2010-03-31
    ➖
    SMITH, Gordon William resigned
    director
  18. 2007-01-25
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  19. 1995-03-01
    ➕
    BAGSHAW, Derrick Basil appointed
    secretary
  20. 1995-02-28
    ➖
    WOOLLEY, John Kenneth resigned
    secretary
  21. 1991-11-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  22. 1990-05-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: William Harvey and Others
  23. 1990-04-01
    ➖
    SMITH, Gordon William resigned
    secretary
  24. 1990-04-01
    ➕
    WOOLLEY, John Kenneth appointed
    secretary
  25. 1989-10-03
    ➕
    SMITH, Alan William appointed
    director
  26. 1989-10-03
    ➕
    SMITH, Peter Timothy appointed
    director
  27. 1989-10-03
    ➖
    HARVEY, William resigned
    director
  28. 1984-09-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  29. 1974-04-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Alteration to bond of cash credit & see doc 9 floating charge
  30. 1974-01-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DUNOON CERAMICS LIMITED

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 37 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 37 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 52 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

Dunoon Ceramics Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Dunoon Ceramics Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
DUNOON CERAMICS LIMITED
This company · SC054864

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
Dunoon Ceramics Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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

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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1974-01-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC23410 — SIC 23410

Registered office

Floor 1, Quay 2 139 Fountainbridge
Edinburgh
EH3 9QG
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-20
Last: 2026-01-06

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

TUNNICLIFF, Helena Claire→
secretary · appointed 2012-05-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Alan William→
director · ~68y · appointed 1989-10-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Peter Timothy→
director · ~69y · appointed 1989-10-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BAGSHAW, Derrick Basil→
secretary · appointed 1995-03-01 · resigned 2012-05-29
Resigned
SMITH, Gordon William→
secretary · resigned 1990-04-01
Resigned
WOOLLEY, John Kenneth→
secretary · appointed 1990-04-01 · resigned 1995-02-28
Resigned
HARVEY, William→
director · ~89y · resigned 1989-10-03
Resigned
SMITH, Gordon William→
director · ~96y · resigned 2010-03-31
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
William Harvey and Others
Bond & floating charge1 property15/05/199015/11/1991
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Floating charge1 property27/09/1984—
satisfied
Unknown
Alteration to bond of cash credit & see doc 9 floating charge1 property09/04/197425/01/2007
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (118 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-22