HOWCO SPECIAL PROCESSING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC272142 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-18
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 24200
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (56/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
57 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

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. 2025-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-06-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-04-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-04-01
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-03-31
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-04-09
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-03-31
    ➕
    NESS, Kenneth Mackenzie appointed
    secretary
  17. 2013-03-31
    ➖
    MCINTYRE, Stewart Wallace resigned
    secretary
  18. 2004-10-06
    ➕
    NESS, Kenneth Mackenzie appointed
    director
  19. 2004-10-06
    ➕
    MCINTYRE, Stewart Wallace appointed
    secretary
  20. 2004-10-06
    ➖
    MACROBERTS - (FIRM) resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2004-10-06
    ➖
    MACROBERTS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 2004-08-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HOWCO SPECIAL PROCESSING LIMITED
  23. 2004-08-18
    ➕
    MACROBERTS - (FIRM) appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2004-08-18
    ➕
    MACROBERTS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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

Sumitomo Corporation is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Sumitomo Corporation
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
HOWCO SPECIAL PROCESSING LIMITED
This company · SC272142

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Sumitomo Corporation
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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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LINN PRODUCTS LIMITED→
SC052366 · est 1973
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——17053y8580y
CALEDONIAN PLYWOOD COMPANY LTD.→
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£6.46M
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——810027y8572y
PITREAVIE PACKAGING LIMITED→
SC290452 · est 2005
£4.66M
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£24.98M—1570020y8470y
PCT GROUP SALES LIMITED→
SC075642 · est 1981
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——7744y8583y
PROMAT BD LIMITED→
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THOMAS TUNNOCK LIMITED→
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SAMTEC (EUROPE) LIMITED→
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——270040y8565y
SOAPWORKS LIMITED→
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£817.8k
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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
Incorporated2004-08-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC24200 — SIC 24200

Registered office

Fountain House 2nd Floor
1-3 Woodside Crescent
Glasgow
G3 7UL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-14
Last: 2026-03-31

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

NESS, Kenneth Mackenzie→
secretary · appointed 2013-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NESS, Kenneth Mackenzie→
director · ~57y · appointed 2004-10-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCINTYRE, Stewart Wallace→
secretary · appointed 2004-10-06 · resigned 2013-03-31
Resigned
MACROBERTS - (FIRM)→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-18 · resigned 2004-10-06
Resigned
MACROBERTS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-18 · resigned 2004-10-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (57 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-06-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-01