SHETLAND REFRESHMENTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC190856 · ltd · incorporated 1998-11-05
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of beer
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 23.8y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 23.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 2 with DOB)
76
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
100 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-05
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  6. 2023-10-04
    📄
    administrative-restoration-company
    restoration · RT01
  7. 2023-08-15
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ2
  8. 2023-07-11
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  9. 2023-05-30
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  10. 2021-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-08-24
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2021-08-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  13. 2021-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-08-28
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  16. 2020-08-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2020-08-28
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  18. 2020-08-17
    ➕
    PRIEST, John Henry appointed
    secretary
  19. 2020-08-17
    ➖
    CARNELL, Yvette resigned
    secretary
  20. 2020-05-16
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  21. 2020-01-31
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  22. 2014-05-19
    ➕
    CARNELL, Yvette appointed
    secretary
  23. 2014-05-19
    ➖
    PRIEST, Sylvia Mabel resigned
    secretary
  24. 2014-05-19
    ➖
    PRIEST, Sylvia Mabel resigned
    director
  25. 2002-07-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  26. 1998-11-25
    ➕
    PRIEST, John Henry appointed
    director
  27. 1998-11-25
    ➕
    PRIEST, Sylvia Mabel appointed
    secretary
  28. 1998-11-25
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 1998-11-25
    ➕
    PRIEST, Sylvia Mabel appointed
    director
  30. 1998-11-25
    ➖
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  31. 1998-11-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As SHETLAND REFRESHMENTS LIMITED
  32. 1998-11-05
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  33. 1998-11-05
    ➕
    JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — 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 71 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 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Henry Priest
Individual · British · DOB 11/1955 · age 71
75–100%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest01/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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QA FISH LIMITED→
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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
Incorporated1998-11-05
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC11050 — Manufacture of beer

Registered office

St Olaf's Hall Church Road
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0FD
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-19
Last: 2025-11-05

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

PRIEST, John Henry→
secretary · appointed 2020-08-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PRIEST, John Henry→
director · ~71y · appointed 1998-11-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CARNELL, Yvette→
secretary · appointed 2014-05-19 · resigned 2020-08-17
Resigned
PRIEST, Sylvia Mabel→
secretary · appointed 1998-11-25 · resigned 2014-05-19
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-11-05 · resigned 1998-11-25
Resigned
PRIEST, Sylvia Mabel→
director · ~69y · appointed 1998-11-25 · resigned 2014-05-19
Resigned
JORDANS (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-11-05 · resigned 1998-11-25
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property24/07/200224/08/2021

Recent filings (100 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-17
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-10-05
administrative-restoration-company
restoration · RT01
2023-10-04
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2023-08-15
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2023-07-11
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-09