SORN MILK LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC149016 · ltd · incorporated 1994-02-14

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

£2.2k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 10511

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 29.1y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 29.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

4 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

82 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £2,154

Very low cash

Cash position: £95

Cash YoY

+0%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£95

~ YoY

Net Worth

£2k

~ YoY

Current Assets

£12k

~ YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£2.2k	£2.2k
Current assets	£12.1k	£12.1k
Cash	£95	£95
Debtors	£12.0k	£12.0k
Net assets	£2.2k	£2.2k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2025-12-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-02-18
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2018-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-02-15
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-02-07
➖
HOWE, Donald resigned
director
2016-12-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2008-11-01
➖
MCKERROW, David Neil resigned
director
2008-11-01
➖
WATSON, Ian resigned
director
1998-07-01
➕
HOWE, Donald appointed
director
1997-04-17
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
1994-02-14
🏢
Company incorporated
As SORN MILK LIMITED
1994-02-14
➕
SHAW, Jean appointed
secretary
1994-02-14
➕
SHAW, David appointed
director
1994-02-14
➕
REID, Brian appointed
nominee-secretary
1994-02-14
➖
REID, Brian resigned
nominee-secretary
1994-02-14
➕
MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
nominee-director
1994-02-14
➖
MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
nominee-director
1994-02-14
➕
MCKERROW, David Neil appointed
director
1994-02-14
➕
WATSON, Ian 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 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — 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 77 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 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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

clean

No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David Shaw Individual · British · DOB 07/1949 · age 77	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016
Mrs Jean Shaw Individual · British · DOB 11/1949 · age 77	25–50%	—	25-50% 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 · Food & drink · KA postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ISLE OF ARRAN DISTILLERS LIMITED→ SC134963 · est 1991	£9.19M £6.77M–£11.61M	—	—	9300	34y	85	93y
GRANT BROTHERS (MEAT CANNERS) LIMITED→ SC020934 · est 1939	£5.62M £4.14M–£7.10M	—	—	42	87y	80	66y
LLDR ALEXANDRIA LTD→ SC187650 · est 1998 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	27y	83	74y
THE NATURAL FRUIT AND BEVERAGE COMPANY LIMITED→ SC220179 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	83	74y
FOOD SCIENCE LIMITED→ SC352591 · est 2008	—	—	£67.2k	—	17y	82	83y
ISLAND CHEESE COMPANY LIMITED→ SC122774 · est 1990	—	—	£290.9k	—	36y	82	64y
LLDY ALEXANDRIA LTD→ SC140039 · est 1992 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	33y	82	74y
MCCALLUMS FOODS LIMITED→ SC209850 · est 2000	—	—	—	1200	25y	82	63y
K K DRAUGHT DRINKS LIMITED→ SC298673 · est 2006	—	—	£147.5k	—	20y	81	58y
ARRAN BREWERY PLC→ SC430232 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	80	66y
ELMBRONZE LIMITED→ SC150540 · est 1994	—	—	£311	—	32y	80	74y
IRVINE'S LIMITED→ SC302169 · est 2006	—	—	—	27	20y	80	66y

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

🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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

Incorporated1994-02-14

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC10511 — SIC 10511

Registered office

Crofhead Farm

Sorn

Mauchline

KA5 6HW

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-02-24

Last: 2026-02-10

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

SHAW, Jean→

secretary · appointed 1994-02-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SHAW, David→

director · ~77y · appointed 1994-02-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

REID, Brian→

nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-02-14 · resigned 1994-02-14

Resigned

HOWE, Donald→

director · ~84y · appointed 1998-07-01 · resigned 2017-02-07

Resigned

MABBOTT, Stephen→

nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1994-02-14 · resigned 1994-02-14

Resigned

MCKERROW, David Neil→

director · ~67y · appointed 1994-02-14 · resigned 2008-11-01

Resigned

WATSON, Ian→

director · ~80y · appointed 1994-02-14 · resigned 2008-11-01

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Bond & floating charge	1 property	17/04/1997	—

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

Recent filings (82 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-02-11

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2025-12-09

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-03-14

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-11-15

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-03-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-11-02

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-03-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-02-22

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-02-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2021-12-17

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2021-03-31

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-03-17

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2020-02-10

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2019-12-20

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address

address · AD01

2019-02-18