CRANTIT DAIRY

💤Zombieactive

SC141498 · private-unlimited · incorporated 1992-12-01

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 10511

Sector: Manufacturing

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

10512SIC 10512
10519SIC 10519
10520SIC 10520

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 31.4y

15/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 31.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (57/100)

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

Company profile

address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

52 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2025-12-15
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-30
➖
BICHAN, Kathleen Anne Mainland resigned
director
2024-02-24
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-02-20
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2016-07-07
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2016-07-07
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2016-02-08
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-01-01
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-01-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2012-12-31
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2011-12-22
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2011-12-22
📄
termination-director-company-with-name
officers · TM01
2011-08-05
➖
BICHAN, Graham Frank Matches resigned
director
2010-12-31
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2009-12-28
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2009-12-28
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2009-12-28
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2009-12-28
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2009-06-25
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2008-12-10
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2004-09-10
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland Commercial Services Limited
2002-12-01
➕
BICHAN, Graham Frank Matches appointed
director
1999-06-03
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
1997-05-22
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Orkney Islands Council
1995-02-01
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
1992-12-01
🏢
Company incorporated
As CRANTIT DAIRY
1992-12-01
➕
BICHAN, Dennis Eunson Marwick appointed
secretary
1992-12-01
➕
BICHAN, Dennis Eunson Marwick appointed
director
1992-12-01
➕
BICHAN, Kathleen Anne Mainland appointed
director

Owner dependency

100/100

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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

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 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 34 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.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Dennis Eunson Marwick Bichan Individual · British · DOB 07/1946 · age 80	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	30/11/2016

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.

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Similar companies

Active · Food & drink · KW postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ARGO'S BAKERY LIMITED→ SC082881 · est 1983	—	—	£550.3k	—	43y	83	66y
PIEROWALL FISH LIMITED→ SC350070 · est 2008	—	—	—	11	17y	82	63y
RENDALL'S BAKERY LTD→ SC243027 · est 2003	—	—	—	36	23y	82	66y
JOHN O'GROATS BREWERY LTD→ SC424589 · est 2012	—	—	£79.0k	—	14y	79	66y
LRM TRADING LTD→ SC285556 · est 2005	—	—	£228.3k	—	21y	79	59y
NORTH COAST DISTILLERS LIMITED→ SC652661 · est 2020	—	—	£486.5k	—	6y	79	67y
HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY LIMITED→ SC263315 · est 2004	—	—	—	6	22y	77	65y
JOHNSTONS OF THURSO LTD→ SC619863 · est 2019	—	—	—	—	7y	76	63y
ORKNEY FUDGE LTD.→ SC198002 · est 1999	—	—	—	—	26y	76	66y
SCOTSRUM LIMITED→ SC631788 · est 2019	—	—	£4	—	7y	76	65y
ANNIE'S BAKERY LIMITED→ SC439693 · est 2013	—	—	£57.1k	—	13y	73	34y
CAPALDIS BRORA LTD→ SC555799 · est 2017	—	—	£16.1k	—	9y	73	35y

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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

Typeprivate-unlimited

Incorporated1992-12-01

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC10511 — SIC 10511

Registered office

Crantit Farm

St Ola

Orkney

KW15 1RZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: —

Last made up to: —

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-15

Last: 2025-12-01

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

BICHAN, Dennis Eunson Marwick→

secretary · appointed 1992-12-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BICHAN, Dennis Eunson Marwick→

director · ~80y · appointed 1992-12-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BICHAN, Graham Frank Matches→

director · ~50y · appointed 2002-12-01 · resigned 2011-08-05

Resigned

BICHAN, Kathleen Anne Mainland→

director · ~74y · appointed 1992-12-01 · resigned 2025-11-30

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Standard security	1 property	10/12/2008	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland Commercial Services Limited	Floating charge	1 property	10/09/2004	—
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Bond & floating charge	1 property	03/06/1999	07/07/2016
outstanding	Orkney Islands Council	Bond & floating charge	1 property	22/05/1997	—
satisfied	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Floating charge	1 property	01/02/1995	25/06/2009

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.