JOHN DAWSON BUTCHERS LIMITED
- 47220Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). 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 22.9y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 22.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1600 | 2000 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-08📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2023-06-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-09-12📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-09-12📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-09-10➖DAWSON, John resigneddirector
- 2009-01-23➕DAWSON, Diane Gilmour appointeddirector
- 2003-06-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
- 2003-03-12🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHN DAWSON BUTCHERS LIMITED
- 2003-03-12➕DAWSON, Diane Gilmour appointedsecretary
- 2003-03-12➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-03-12➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-03-12➕DAWSON, John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DAWSON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
cleanGroup structure
Dawson Holdings Corporation Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dawson Holdings Corporation Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 26/05/2023 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Diane Gilmour Dawsonceased 26/05/2023· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Mr John Dawsonceased 10/09/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company | Floating charge | 1 property | 18/06/2003 | — |