TRADITION GIFTWARE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC372312 · ltd · incorporated 2010-02-04
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of textiles
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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 (78/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
38 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees10001100

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-06-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-06-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  8. 2020-06-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2019-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-03-31
    ➖
    MACDUFF, Andrew resigned
    director
  11. 2019-03-31
    ➖
    MACDUFF, Margaret resigned
    director
  12. 2018-10-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-09-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-10-10
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AAMD
  15. 2016-08-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-02-26
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-07-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2010-02-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As TRADITION GIFTWARE LIMITED
  19. 2010-02-04
    ➕
    MACDUFF, Andrew David appointed
    director
  20. 2010-02-04
    ➕
    MACDUFF, Andrew appointed
    director
  21. 2010-02-04
    ➕
    MACDUFF, Margaret appointed
    director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 Andrew David Macduff
Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% 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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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
DURACARE LIMITED→
SC550705 · est 2016
£8.14M
£6.11M–£10.18M
——59009y8476y
NOBEL NC EUROPE LIMITED→
SC355464 · est 2009
£5.56M
£4.17M–£6.95M
——917y8581y
NOBEL TRADING LIMITED→
SC245627 · est 2003
£4.40M
£3.30M–£5.50M
——023y8581y
COASTLINE ADHESIVE TAPES LIMITED→
SC163345 · est 1996
——£1.01M—30y8365y
GCBW CATRINE LTD→
SC022403 · est 1943 · no financials extracted
————82y8374y
INTER DEPENDENT PURCHASING LIMITED→
SC290783 · est 2005
——£165.9k—20y8363y
A. DEWAR RATTRAY LIMITED→
SC021038 · est 1939
——£1.02M—86y8287y
CUNNINGHAM TRUCK PARTS LIMITED→
SC285268 · est 2005
——£1.01M—20y8258y
IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
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——£94.2k—34y8265y
JOHN DAWSON BUTCHERS LIMITED→
SC245500 · est 2003
———160023y8258y
JOHN H MCNAE LTD.→
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NOVA DOG CHEWS LIMITED→
SC283109 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————21y8259y
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
Incorporated2010-02-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46410 — Wholesale of textiles

Registered office

Units 4/5 62 Viewfield Road
Ayr
Ayrshire
KA8 8HH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-18
Last: 2026-02-04

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

MACDUFF, Andrew David→
director · ~64y · appointed 2010-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACDUFF, Andrew→
director · ~92y · appointed 2010-02-04 · resigned 2019-03-31
Resigned
MACDUFF, Margaret→
director · ~92y · appointed 2010-02-04 · resigned 2019-03-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (38 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-06-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-06-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-12