WM MAXWELL (SCOTCH WHISKY) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC126500 · ltd · incorporated 1990-07-27
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 11010
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 46342SIC 46342
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 86-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 86). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (58/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (3 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
94 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-04-29
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  3. 2026-04-29
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2026-04-24
    ➕
    DONALDSON, Rennie William appointed
    secretary
  5. 2026-04-24
    ➖
    YOUNGER, Michael James resigned
    secretary
  6. 2025-03-21
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  7. 2025-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-02-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-12-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2023-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-01-31
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2023-01-23
    ➖
    RUSSELL, Peter James Sidney resigned
    director
  13. 2022-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-04-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-03-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-02-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2018-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  19. 2017-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  20. 2017-06-05
    ➕
    RUSSELL, Leonard Stuart appointed
    director
  21. 2004-04-22
    ➖
    MOODIE, Andrew Macdonald resigned
    secretary
  22. 2004-04-22
    ➕
    YOUNGER, Michael James appointed
    secretary
  23. 1990-09-26
    ➕
    RUSSELL, David William Hodder appointed
    director
  24. 1990-09-26
    ➕
    MOODIE, Andrew Macdonald appointed
    secretary
  25. 1990-09-26
    ➖
    BURNESS SOLICITORS resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1990-09-26
    ➖
    RAFFERTY, John Campbell resigned
    nominee-director
  27. 1990-09-26
    ➕
    RUSSELL, Peter James Sidney appointed
    director
  28. 1990-09-26
    ➖
    WOOD, Malcolm James resigned
    nominee-director
  29. 1990-07-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WM MAXWELL (SCOTCH WHISKY) LIMITED
  30. 1990-07-27
    ➕
    BURNESS SOLICITORS appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 1990-07-27
    ➕
    RAFFERTY, John Campbell appointed
    nominee-director
  32. 1990-07-27
    ➕
    WOOD, Malcolm James appointed
    nominee-director

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 36 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 86 — 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 70+: Senior director is approximately 86 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 36 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

Ian Macleod Distillers is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Ian Macleod Distillers
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
WM MAXWELL (SCOTCH WHISKY) LIMITED
This company · SC126500

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
Ian Macleod Distillers
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1990-07-27
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC11010 — SIC 11010

Registered office

Peter Russell House 2 Youngs Road
East Mains Industrial Estate
Broxburn
West Lothian
EH52 5LY
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last: 2026-01-17

Officers (3 active · 6 resigned)

DONALDSON, Rennie William→
secretary · appointed 2026-04-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUSSELL, David William Hodder→
director · ~86y · appointed 1990-09-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUSSELL, Leonard Stuart→
director · ~65y · appointed 2017-06-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOODIE, Andrew Macdonald→
secretary · appointed 1990-09-26 · resigned 2004-04-22
Resigned
YOUNGER, Michael James→
secretary · appointed 2004-04-22 · resigned 2026-04-24
Resigned
BURNESS SOLICITORS→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1990-07-27 · resigned 1990-09-26
Resigned
RAFFERTY, John Campbell→
nominee-director · ~95y · appointed 1990-07-27 · resigned 1990-09-26
Resigned
RUSSELL, Peter James Sidney→
director · ~99y · appointed 1990-09-26 · resigned 2023-01-23
Resigned
WOOD, Malcolm James→
nominee-director · ~71y · appointed 1990-07-27 · resigned 1990-09-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (94 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-05-12
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2026-04-29
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-02-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-17