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.

🔒Estimated value

—

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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 31.2y

15/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 31.2 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

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 officers

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 33 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 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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	—	42y	83	66y
DUNNET BAY DISTILLERS LTD.→ SC454474 · est 2013	—	—	£2.85M	—	12y	75	45y
ANNIE'S BAKERY LIMITED→ SC439693 · est 2013	—	—	£57.1k	—	13y	73	34y
CAPALDIS BRORA LTD→ SC555799 · est 2017	—	—	£16.1k	—	9y	73	35y
DUNROBIN HIGHLAND DISTILLERY LIMITED→ SC520078 · est 2015	—	—	—	0	10y	73	55y
58 NØRTH LTD→ SC850938 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	71	41y
BOREAL BREWING LTD→ SC870145 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	71	45y
DONALDSONS OF ORKNEY→ SC740005 · est 2022	—	—	£86.8k	—	3y	71	47y
FORBESCROFT LTD→ SC686242 · est 2021	—	—	£5.0k	—	5y	69	43y
B G A QUALITY BUTCHERS LTD→ SC470632 · est 2014	—	—	£-3.5k	—	12y	63	70y
DEERNESS DISTILLERY LTD→ SC531754 · est 2016	—	—	£-84.3k	—	10y	59	53y
GOLDEN SLIPPER BREWING COMPANY LIMITED→ SC824877 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—

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.