DUNLOPS MOTOR FACTORS (HIGHLAND) LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC216519 · ltd · incorporated 2001-03-07
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 21.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2024
Net worth
£86.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 72). 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 21.9y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 21.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
62 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £86,887

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£87k
Current Assets
£857
Current Liabilities
—
£0£17k£35k£52k£70k£87kJul 2023Jul 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-07-312023-07-31
Total assets£92.2k—
Current assets£857—
Net assets£86.9k—

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2023-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-04-29
    ➕
    DUNLOP, Susan appointed
    director
  7. 2021-04-29
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2020-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-05-18
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-03-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2004-05-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  16. 2002-09-01
    ➖
    DUNLOP, Frederick Francis Robert resigned
    director
  17. 2001-07-18
    ➕
    DUNLOP, Susan Margaret appointed
    secretary
  18. 2001-07-18
    ➕
    DUNLOP, Andrew Logan appointed
    director
  19. 2001-07-18
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2001-07-18
    ➕
    DUNLOP, Frederick Francis Robert appointed
    director
  21. 2001-07-18
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 2001-03-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DUNLOPS MOTOR FACTORS (HIGHLAND) LTD.
  23. 2001-03-07
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2001-03-07
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD 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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DUNLOP" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
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 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew Logan Dunlop
Individual · British · DOB 10/1954 · age 72
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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——7524y8864y
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——520050y8768y
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——£2.10M—24y8358y
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——£83.0k—15y8358y
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SC384911 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y8359y
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——£178.1k—26y8265y
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———223y8272y
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——£108.0k—25y8262y
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——£1.84M—49y8280y
FLEET MANAGEMENT SERVICES (UK) LIMITED→
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———90025y8269y
GODSMAN TYRES & EXHAUSTS LIMITED→
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——£77.0k—20y8265y
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
Incorporated2001-03-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45320 — Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories

Registered office

Greshop Road
Greshop Industrial Estate
Forres
Moray
IV36 2GW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-17
Last: 2026-03-03

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

DUNLOP, Susan Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2001-07-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNLOP, Andrew Logan→
director · ~72y · appointed 2001-07-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNLOP, Susan→
director · ~68y · appointed 2021-04-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-03-07 · resigned 2001-07-18
Resigned
DUNLOP, Frederick Francis Robert→
director · ~82y · appointed 2001-07-18 · resigned 2002-09-01
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-03-07 · resigned 2001-07-18
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property14/05/2004—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (62 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-30
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-04-29