THE DORMANT DISTILLERY COMPANY LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC172078 · ltd · incorporated 1997-02-05
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47250
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueConservative operator with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (85/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 29.0y
45/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 29.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
- · Profitable and stable/growing — lender coverage supportable.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)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
75
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
99 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Profitable
Profit before tax £4,281
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Profit before tax | £4.3k | — |
| Average employees | 64 | 6900 |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (41 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-13📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-11-10🔒Charge registered #4Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2024-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-04📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-10-04🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2024-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2024-01-08📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-03-15📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-12-23📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-12-05➕BLACK, Alistair Grant appointeddirector
- 2022-10-18📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-10-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2022-10-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-10-11📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-10-11📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-10-11📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2022-10-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-10-06📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2022-10-06📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2022-10-05➕MCCLUNE, Iain Robert appointeddirector
- 2022-10-05➖SWORD, Keir Morton resignedsecretary
- 2022-10-05➖SWORD, Keir Morton resigneddirector
- 2022-10-05🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Keir Morton Sword, as Security Trustee
- 2022-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-09-26📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-09-26🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2018-02-09➖SWORD, Polly Jane resigneddirector
- 2006-11-21➕SWORD, Polly Jane appointeddirector
- 2006-04-19➖TORRIE, Robin resigneddirector
- 2005-01-06🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2004-09-07🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2003-07-21➖SWORD, William Morton resigneddirector
- 2002-10-21➕TORRIE, Robin appointeddirector
- 1997-05-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 1997-02-05🏢Company incorporatedAs THE DORMANT DISTILLERY COMPANY LIMITED
- 1997-02-05➕SWORD, Keir Morton appointedsecretary
- 1997-02-05➕SWORD, Keir Morton appointeddirector
- 1997-02-05➕SWORD, William Morton appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Group structure
Vintage Saga Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Vintage Saga Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
THE DORMANT DISTILLERY COMPANY LIMITED
This company · SC172078
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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vintage Saga Ltd Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 05/10/2022 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Keir Morton Swordceased 05/10/2022· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control
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 · Retail · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PENTLAND KITCHENS LIMITED→ SC307579 · est 2006 | £710.4k £532.8k–£888.0k | — | — | 2000 | 19y | 83 | 63y |
| M&F FUNERAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC365033 · est 2009 | £671.4k £503.6k–£839.3k | — | — | 1400 | 16y | 88 | 61y |
| LYON & TURNBULL LIMITED→ SC191166 · est 1998 | £551.7k £413.8k–£689.6k | — | — | 75 | 27y | 85 | 77y |
| FESTIVAL FRINGE TRADING LIMITED→ SC130813 · est 1991 | £497.4k £373.1k–£621.8k | — | — | 0 | 35y | 85 | 77y |
| DRINX.COM LIMITED→ SC203859 · est 2000 | — | — | £353.7k | — | 26y | 83 | 63y |
| GLASGOW ARCHITECTURAL SALVAGE LIMITED→ SC248258 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | 83 | 58y |
| GLENTERRIN LIMITED→ SC116076 · est 1989 | — | — | — | 7100 | 37y | 83 | 64y |
| GRAHAM TISO LIMITED→ SC081944 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 43y | 83 | 60y |
| NGS TRADING COMPANY LIMITED→ SC312797 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | 83 | 68y |
| PLANET FLOWERS LTD.→ SC212761 · est 2000 | — | — | £208.8k | — | 25y | 83 | 78y |
| THE GREAT GROG COMPANY LIMITED→ SC194873 · est 1999 | — | — | £501.5k | — | 27y | 83 | 64y |
| 8 YARDS LIMITED→ SC158881 · est 1995 | — | — | — | 27 | 30y | 82 | 66y |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1997-02-05
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47250 — SIC 47250
Registered office
The Dormant Distillery Company Limited
Pentland Industrial Estate
Loanhead
EH20 9QH
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-19
Last: 2026-02-05
Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)
BLACK, Alistair Grant→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2022-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCCLUNE, Iain Robert→
Activedirector · ~40y · appointed 2022-10-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SWORD, Keir Morton→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1997-02-05 · resigned 2022-10-05
SWORD, Keir Morton→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 1997-02-05 · resigned 2022-10-05
SWORD, Polly Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2006-11-21 · resigned 2018-02-09
SWORD, William Morton→
Resigneddirector · ~98y · appointed 1997-02-05 · resigned 2003-07-21
TORRIE, Robin→
Resigneddirector · ~55y · appointed 2002-10-21 · resigned 2006-04-19
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 10/11/2025 | — | |
| satisfied | Keir Morton Sword, as Security Trustee | A registered charge | — | 05/10/2022 | 04/10/2024 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 07/09/2004 | 26/09/2022 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 22/05/1997 | 06/01/2005 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (99 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-12
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-11-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2024-01-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-01-08
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2023-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-20
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-12-23
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-10-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2022-10-11