MERLIN NETWORK (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC419217 · ltd · incorporated 2012-03-12
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.70M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of builders' ware of plastic
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -46% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 13.1y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 13.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,698,022
Net assets shrinking
Down £107,809 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 46% YoY
Cash YoY
-46%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£359k
↓ 46% YoY
Net Worth
£1.7m
↓ 6.0% YoY
Current Assets
£2.1m
↓ 5.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.77M | £1.91M |
| Current assets | £2.08M | £2.21M |
| Cash | £359.0k | £664.2k |
| Debtors | £1.46M | £1.26M |
| Net assets | £1.70M | £1.81M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2019-07-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-14📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2017-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-07📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2017-07-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-04-28📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-04-11➖BRYANT, Michael Ian resigneddirector
- 2017-02-06➕GRAY, Alexander appointeddirector
- 2014-06-25🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2014-06-18🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Aldermore Bank PLC
- 2013-03-26🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2012-03-16➕BRYANT, Michael Ian appointeddirector
- 2012-03-12🏢Company incorporatedAs MERLIN NETWORK (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
- 2012-03-12➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2012-03-12➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2012-03-12➕MABBOTT, Stephen George appointeddirector
- 2012-03-12➖MABBOTT, Stephen George resigneddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
Saveheat Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Saveheat Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
MERLIN NETWORK (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
This company · SC419217
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Saveheat Group Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 11/04/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Michael Ian Bryantceased 11/04/2017· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control
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 →Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCHVIEW PHARM LTD.→ SC372375 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| MWL MANUFACTURING LTD→ SC692086 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| MY AUTHENTIC SELF LTD→ SC813770 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| NCT LEATHER LIMITED→ SC019503 · est 1936 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 89y | — | — |
| NDT & QUALITY SERVICES LIMITED→ SC411148 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| NEILSON’S JOINERY SUPERSTORE LTD→ SC612270 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| NEWARK ENTERPRISES LTD→ SC474333 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| NL HYDRAULICS LTD→ SC860414 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| NOLAN CONTRACTS LTD.→ SC745819 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| NON LINEAR PLASMA LTD→ SC741886 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| NORFAB EQUIPMENT LIMITED→ SC625537 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| NORTH ATLANTIC MINERALS LIMITED→ SC423859 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2012-03-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC22230 — Manufacture of builders' ware of plastic
Registered office
9 Baker Street
Greenock
PA15 4TU
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-26
Last: 2025-05-12
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
GRAY, Alexander→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2017-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2012-03-12 · resigned 2012-03-12
BRYANT, Michael Ian→
Resigneddirector · ~69y · appointed 2012-03-16 · resigned 2017-04-11
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 2012-03-12 · resigned 2012-03-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Aldermore Aldermore Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 18/06/2014 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Floating charge | 1 property | 26/03/2013 | 25/06/2014 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (44 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2019-07-21