BLAIR CASTLE ESTATE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC156776 · ltd · incorporated 1995-03-21
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 29.7y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01450
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 55900Other accommodation
  • 56101Licenced restaurants
  • 91030Operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 75). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 29.7y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

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

Company profile
address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
12 officers (5 active, 12 linked, 9 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
101 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
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£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees1020010600

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
3
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • 1 officers
Last 90 days
3
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • 1 officers
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (40 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-03
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  2. 2026-04-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2025-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-11-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2022-10-27
    HARRIDENCE, Caroline appointed
    director
  9. 2022-03-01
    BLUES, Stuart resigned
    director
  10. 2022-03-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2021-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-04-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  13. 2020-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-07-21
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  15. 2020-07-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  16. 2020-03-26
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2020-03-26
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2019-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2019-05-14
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2019-05-13
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  21. 2019-05-10
    TROUGHTON, Robert Charles Peter appointed
    director
  22. 2019-05-10
    BLUES, Stuart appointed
    director
  23. 2016-01-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  24. 2015-12-23
    GILLESPIE MACANDREW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2015-12-23
    BRODIES SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  26. 2004-05-01
    BRODIES SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  27. 2004-05-01
    BRODIES WS resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2001-03-31
    GORDON, Andrew Duncan resigned
    director
  29. 2000-11-01
    BRUCE WOOTTON, Andrew Edward appointed
    director
  30. 1996-08-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  31. 1996-02-27
    MURRAY, George Iain, His Grace The Duke Of Atholl resigned
    director
  32. 1995-03-22
    TROUGHTON, Sarah Hope appointed
    director
  33. 1995-03-22
    CAMPBELL, Alistair Carnegie resigned
    nominee-director
  34. 1995-03-22
    GORDON, Andrew Duncan appointed
    director
  35. 1995-03-22
    GUILD, David William Alan resigned
    nominee-director
  36. 1995-03-22
    MURRAY, George Iain, His Grace The Duke Of Atholl appointed
    director
  37. 1995-03-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLAIR CASTLE ESTATE LIMITED
  38. 1995-03-21
    BRODIES WS appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  39. 1995-03-21
    CAMPBELL, Alistair Carnegie appointed
    nominee-director
  40. 1995-03-21
    GUILD, David William Alan appointed
    nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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.)

Group structure

The Dickinson Trust Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
The Dickinson Trust Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
BLAIR CASTLE ESTATE LIMITED
This company · SC156776

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
The Dickinson Trust Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest06/04/2016
Mrs Sarah Hope Troughton
Individual · British · DOB 03/1951 · age 75
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Blair Castle Estate Limitedceased 28/03/2017· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest

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
Incorporated1995-03-21
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01450 — SIC 01450

Registered office

Atholl Estates Office
Blair Atholl
Pitlochry
Perthshire
PH18 5TH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-04
Last: 2026-03-21

Officers (5 active · 7 resigned)

GILLESPIE MACANDREW SECRETARIES LIMITED
corporate-secretary · appointed 2015-12-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRUCE WOOTTON, Andrew Edward
director · ~59y · appointed 2000-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARRIDENCE, Caroline
director · ~56y · appointed 2022-10-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TROUGHTON, Robert Charles Peter
director · ~44y · appointed 2019-05-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TROUGHTON, Sarah Hope
director · ~75y · appointed 1995-03-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRODIES SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED
corporate-secretary · appointed 2004-05-01 · resigned 2015-12-23
Resigned
BRODIES WS
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-03-21 · resigned 2004-05-01
Resigned
BLUES, Stuart
director · ~38y · appointed 2019-05-10 · resigned 2022-03-01
Resigned
CAMPBELL, Alistair Carnegie
nominee-director · ~72y · appointed 1995-03-21 · resigned 1995-03-22
Resigned
GORDON, Andrew Duncan
director · ~80y · appointed 1995-03-22 · resigned 2001-03-31
Resigned
GUILD, David William Alan
nominee-director · ~73y · appointed 1995-03-21 · resigned 1995-03-22
Resigned
MURRAY, George Iain, His Grace The Duke Of Atholl
director · ~95y · appointed 1995-03-22 · resigned 1996-02-27
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge16/07/2020
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property16/08/199615/01/2016
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (101 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-07
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-04-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-11-22
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-11-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-04
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-01