WHIGHAM FERGUSSON LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC071221 · ltd · incorporated 1980-04-17
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46342
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. 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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 29.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 29.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
11 officers (2 active, 11 linked, 6 with DOB)
81
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
110 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
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
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 (35 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-07➕THORNTON, Edward Jared Macleod appointeddirector
- 2025-08-07➖MOODY, Stephen Antony resigneddirector
- 2025-08-07📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-08-07📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-19➕CONRADI, Ben appointedsecretary
- 2023-10-19➖RIMES, Louise Catherine resignedsecretary
- 2023-10-19📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-10-19📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2023-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-01-12🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2022-08-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2020-01-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-12📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-06-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-07-16➖MCKENZIE, Colin Michael resigneddirector
- 2014-07-16➕MOODY, Stephen Antony appointeddirector
- 2006-03-06➖BOWIE, Victor John Alexander resigneddirector
- 1998-09-07➕RIMES, Louise Catherine appointedsecretary
- 1998-09-04➖BLANCHARD, Jonathan Neil resignedsecretary
- 1996-09-25🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1992-03-31➕BLANCHARD, Jonathan Neil appointedsecretary
- 1992-03-31➖VAUX, John Gordon resignedsecretary
- 1992-03-31➕MCKENZIE, Colin Michael appointeddirector
- 1992-03-31➖VAUX, John Gordon resigneddirector
- 1990-09-25➖MALLABY, Peter John Antony resigneddirector
- 1989-12-01➕VAUX, John Gordon appointeddirector
- 1989-11-30➖STARK, Brian Walker resigneddirector
- 1980-04-17🏢Company incorporatedAs WHIGHAM FERGUSSON LIMITED
Owner dependency
83/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
John E Fells & Sons Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
John E Fells & Sons Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
WHIGHAM FERGUSSON LIMITED
This company · SC071221
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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John E Fells & Sons Ltd Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WESTON IMPORTERS LTD.→ SC302951 · est 2006 | £518.01M £388.51M–£647.51M | — | — | 10 | 19y | 84 | 58y |
| J GAS LIMITED→ SC274899 · est 2004 | £15.28M £11.46M–£19.10M | — | — | 72 | 21y | 84 | 61y |
| BEER52 LIMITED→ SC449930 · est 2013 | £13.17M £9.87M–£16.46M | — | — | 84 | 12y | 84 | 69y |
| MACINTYRE SCOTT & CO. LIMITED→ SC017592 · est 1933 | £8.29M £6.21M–£10.36M | £73.38M | — | 6500 | 92y | 83 | 67y |
| NISHA ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ SC193287 · est 1999 | £7.60M £5.70M–£9.51M | £13.56M | — | 8100 | 27y | 87 | 66y |
| SÜDZUCKER UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED→ SC506349 · est 2015 | £3.74M £2.80M–£4.67M | — | — | 800 | 10y | 84 | 66y |
| THISTLE TIMBER AND BUILDING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ SC182761 · est 1998 | £3.10M £2.32M–£3.87M | — | — | 6000 | 28y | 87 | 60y |
| VAPOTHERM UK LTD→ SC370398 · est 2009 | £578.6k £433.9k–£723.2k | — | — | 2000 | 16y | 85 | 63y |
| ST. ANDREWS TIMBER & BUILDING SUPPLIES (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→ SC520551 · est 2015 | £391.4k £293.6k–£489.3k | — | — | 100 | 10y | 84 | 60y |
| ORIGIN FITNESS LIMITED→ SC339149 · est 2008 | £72.4k £54.3k–£90.5k | — | — | 57 | 18y | 98 | 59y |
| DACOLL LIMITED→ SC173001 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | 83 | 93y |
| LOMOND BOOKS LIMITED→ SC317716 · est 2007 | — | — | — | 1600 | 19y | 83 | 59y |
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
Incorporated1980-04-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46342 — SIC 46342
Registered office
4th Floor
Saltire Court
20 Castle Terrace
Edinburgh
EH1 2EN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-20
Last: 2025-08-06
Officers (2 active · 9 resigned)
Active
THORNTON, Edward Jared Macleod→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2025-08-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BLANCHARD, Jonathan Neil→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-03-31 · resigned 1998-09-04
RIMES, Louise Catherine→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-09-07 · resigned 2023-10-19
VAUX, John Gordon→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1992-03-31
BOWIE, Victor John Alexander→
Resigneddirector · ~77y · resigned 2006-03-06
MALLABY, Peter John Antony→
Resigneddirector · resigned 1990-09-25
MCKENZIE, Colin Michael→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · appointed 1992-03-31 · resigned 2014-07-16
MOODY, Stephen Antony→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2014-07-16 · resigned 2025-08-07
STARK, Brian Walker→
Resigneddirector · ~95y · resigned 1989-11-30
VAUX, John Gordon→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · appointed 1989-12-01 · resigned 1992-03-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Floating charge | 1 property | 25/09/1996 | 12/01/2023 |
Recent filings (110 total)
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-08-07
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-19
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-10-19
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2023-10-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-24
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-07-23