DENHOLM BAKERS LTD

💤Zombieactive

SC358592 · ltd · incorporated 2009-04-24

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

—

year to May 2025

Net worth

£149.5k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes

Sector: Manufacturing

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

47240Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Company profile

address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

42 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Positive net assets

Net assets £149,492

Cash YoY

+4%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£180k

↑ 4.2% YoY

Net Worth

£149k

↑ 6.1% YoY

Current Assets

£205k

↑ 4.2% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-05-31	2024-05-31
Total assets	£149.5k	£140.9k
Current assets	£204.8k	£196.5k
Cash	£179.6k	£172.4k
Debtors	£19.1k	£17.6k
Net assets	£149.5k	£140.9k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2026-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-01-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-02-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-05-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-05-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-01-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2009-04-24
🏢
Company incorporated
As DENHOLM BAKERS LTD
2009-04-24
➕
DENHOLM, Alistair appointed
director
2009-04-24
➕
COSEC LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2009-04-24
➖
COSEC LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2009-04-24
➕
MCMEEKIN, James Stuart appointed
director
2009-04-24
➖
MCMEEKIN, James Stuart resigned
director
2009-04-24
➕
COSEC LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2009-04-24
➖
COSEC LIMITED resigned
corporate-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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DENHOLM" — 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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100

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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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 17 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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Alistair Denholm Individual · British · DOB 12/1952 · age 74	50–75%	—	50-75% shares	06/06/2016
Mrs Alison Jane Denholm Individual · British · DOB 11/1954 · age 72	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/06/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Food & drink · ML postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DAVIDSON BROTHERS (SHOTTS) LIMITED→ SC025270 · est 1947	£13.67M £10.07M–£17.27M	—	—	69	79y	84	79y
BLAIRMHOR DISTILLERS LIMITED→ SC140080 · est 1992	—	—	£0	—	33y	83	77y
BLAIRMHOR LIMITED→ SC099017 · est 1986	—	—	£9.05M	—	39y	83	77y
LAZY DAY FOODS LIMITED→ SC298222 · est 2006	—	—	£2.52M	—	20y	83	71y
CENTRAL BAKERY SUPPLIES LTD.→ SC370821 · est 2010	—	—	—	900	16y	82	65y
GARDINERS OF SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC207381 · est 2000	—	—	£2.80M	—	25y	82	85y
BRAND NEW CAKE LIMITED→ SC379264 · est 2010	—	—	—	—	15y	80	61y
CALIFORNIA CAKE COMPANY LIMITED→ SC204757 · est 2000 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	26y	80	64y
CAMPBELLS FUDGE LIMITED→ SC394263 · est 2011	—	—	—	200	15y	80	62y
NWL CO. DEVELOPMENTS LTD→ SC701027 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
OVENBIRD COFFEE ROASTERS LTD→ SC475050 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
OYINS AFRICA LTD→ SC787028 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2009-04-24

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC10710 — Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes

Registered office

31 Stewarton Street

Wishaw

ML2 8AA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-05-08

Last: 2025-04-24

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

DENHOLM, Alistair→

director · ~74y · appointed 2009-04-24

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COSEC LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2009-04-24 · resigned 2009-04-24

Resigned

MCMEEKIN, James Stuart→

director · ~59y · appointed 2009-04-24 · resigned 2009-04-24

Resigned

COSEC LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2009-04-24 · resigned 2009-04-24

Resigned

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