PENKILN SAWMILL COMPANY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC090886 · ltd · incorporated 1984-12-06
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Sawmilling and planing of wood
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 39.1y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 39.1 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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
107 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
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£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Average employees10001000

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 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  6. 2023-01-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2023-01-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  8. 2022-02-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-01-14
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  12. 2019-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-13
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · RP04CS01
  14. 2018-12-04
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2018-02-14
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  16. 2018-02-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  17. 2018-02-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2018-02-07
    DEWAR, Ewan Douglas appointed
    director
  19. 2018-02-07
    DEWAR, Peter Duncan resigned
    secretary
  20. 2018-02-07
    DEWAR, Colin Wallace resigned
    director
  21. 2018-02-07
    DEWAR, Peter Duncan resigned
    director
  22. 2007-12-01
    DEWAR, Peter Duncan appointed
    director
  23. 2005-05-04
    DEWAR, Peter Duncan appointed
    secretary
  24. 2005-04-13
    DEWAR, Isabel Margaret resigned
    secretary
  25. 2005-04-13
    DEWAR, Isabel Margaret resigned
    director
  26. 1987-04-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  27. 1984-12-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As PENKILN SAWMILL COMPANY LIMITED

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 41 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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

Merchants Of Character Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Merchants Of Character Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
PENKILN SAWMILL COMPANY LIMITED
This company · SC090886

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
Merchants Of Character Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting01/01/2018
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Peter Duncan Dewarceased 16/05/2018· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
  • Penkiln Holdings Limitedceased 01/01/2018· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1984-12-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC16100 — Sawmilling and planing of wood

Registered office

51 Newall Terrace
Dumfries
DG1 1LN
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-25
Last: 2025-11-11

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

DEWAR, Ewan Douglas
director · ~38y · appointed 2018-02-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DEWAR, Isabel Margaret
secretary · resigned 2005-04-13
Resigned
DEWAR, Peter Duncan
secretary · appointed 2005-05-04 · resigned 2018-02-07
Resigned
DEWAR, Colin Wallace
director · ~76y · resigned 2018-02-07
Resigned
DEWAR, Isabel Margaret
director · ~70y · resigned 2005-04-13
Resigned
DEWAR, Peter Duncan
director · ~45y · appointed 2007-12-01 · resigned 2018-02-07
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property03/04/1987
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (107 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2023-01-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-01-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-19