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.
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
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.70M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of builders' ware of plastic
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active 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 13.3y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 13.3 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
45 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 declared
Positive 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 accounts
Cash
£359k
↓ 46% YoY
Net Worth
£1.7m
↓ 6.0% YoY
Current Assets
£2.1m
↓ 5.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£442k£884k£1.3m£1.8m£2.2mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-07-21
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  9. 2019-07-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2018-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-02-14
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  12. 2017-10-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-07
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  14. 2017-07-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2017-04-28
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2017-04-11
    ➖
    BRYANT, Michael Ian resigned
    director
  17. 2017-02-06
    ➕
    GRAY, Alexander appointed
    director
  18. 2014-06-25
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  19. 2014-06-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Aldermore Bank PLC
  20. 2013-03-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  21. 2012-03-16
    ➕
    BRYANT, Michael Ian appointed
    director
  22. 2012-03-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MERLIN NETWORK (SCOTLAND) LIMITED
  23. 2012-03-12
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2012-03-12
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2012-03-12
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
    director
  26. 2012-03-12
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple 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

clean
No 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.

🏛️
Saveheat Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Saveheat Group Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares11/04/2017
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 →

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£7.65M
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——29043y8886y
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SC526884 · est 2016
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£12.22M—660010y8565y
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——£673.3k—35y8360y
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————53y8368y
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——£511.8k—59y8363y
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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: 2027-05-26
Last: 2026-05-12

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

GRAY, Alexander→
director · ~69y · appointed 2017-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2012-03-12 · resigned 2012-03-12
Resigned
BRYANT, Michael Ian→
director · ~69y · appointed 2012-03-16 · resigned 2017-04-11
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
director · ~76y · appointed 2012-03-12 · resigned 2012-03-12
Resigned

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
TypeProperties
outstanding
Aldermore
Aldermore Bank PLC
A registered charge—18/06/2014—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Floating charge1 property26/03/201325/06/2014
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (45 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-25
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